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In a new filing, Google is pushing back against Fortnite maker Epic Games\u2019 numerous proposed remedies<\/a> after a court determined Google engaged in anticompetitive practices on its Play Store. Following the jury\u2019s decision late last year<\/a>, the two sides pled their cases about how Google should have to change its behavior in light of the ruling. For its part, Epic Games issued a wild laundry list of demands,<\/a> that included it gaining access to the Play Store catalog of app and game titles for six years, the ability to distribute its own app store on Google Play with no fees, and much more. It also wanted to put an end to all agreements, incentives and deals, as well as penalties that would allow the Play Store or Google Play Billing to gain the upper hand against rivals.<\/p>\n The tech giant\u2019s surprising and swift defeat<\/a> was a historic ruling, especially since Epic Games largely lost a similar antitrust case<\/a> with Apple, which had not been tried by jury. In the Epic-Apple lawsuit, the court decided Apple was not a monopolist, but did agree that developers should be able to steer their customers to alternative means to pay via the web. The case was appealed up to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear it<\/a>, allowing the lower court\u2019s ruling to stand.<\/p>\n While the jury in Google\u2019s case was convinced that the tech giant leveraged its market power in illegal ways, it didn\u2019t get to decide the next steps \u2014 that\u2019s up to the judge. The new filing, along with Epic\u2019s proposal, will help to inform Judge James Donato in a hearing scheduled on May 23 about what actions to take next to put Google\u2019s power in check.<\/p>\n Epic Games in April had detailed<\/a> its demands in a proposed injunction, found here<\/a>. At a high level, Epic wants Google to allow users to download apps from any app store or the web, depending on their preference. It doesn\u2019t want Google to be able to block or coerce OEMs or carriers to favor Google Play. And it doesn\u2019t want Google to be able to impose additional fees for routing around the Play Store, which Epic Games believes is also an anticompetitive practice.<\/p>\n The Fortnite maker additionally asked the court to enforce other changes, including giving Epic access to the Play Store catalog so it can perform users\u2019 app updates, without warning screens or extra fees. Plus, Epic wants developers to be able to tell its users how to pay for their apps and services elsewhere, and how much they could save by doing so. It wants to eliminate the requirement to use Google\u2019s \u201cUser Choice Billing<\/a>,\u201d which offers only a small discount to developers who process payment transactions themselves, and much more.<\/p>\n Google, of course, disagrees about how the court should proceed.<\/p>\n In a statement, Google Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy Wilson White referred to Epic\u2019s demands as overreaching and unnecessary.<\/p>\n \u201cEpic\u2019s demands would harm the privacy, security, and overall experience of consumers, developers, and device manufacturers,\u201d he said. \u201cNot only does their proposal go far beyond the scope of the recent U.S. trial verdict \u2014 which we will be challenging \u2014 it\u2019s also unnecessary due to the settlement we reached last year with state attorneys general from every state and multiple territories. We will continue to vigorously defend our right to a sustainable business model that enables us to keep people safe, partner with developers to innovate and grow their businesses, and maintain a thriving Android ecosystem for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n In the injunction filed Thursday in a U.S. District Court in California, Google argues that Epic\u2019s demands put users\u2019 security and privacy at risk as it would remove its ability to implement trust and safety measures about the use of the third-party app stores. (Apple has used a similar strategy to fight against regulations around opening up its App Store to competition, too, saying it\u2019s responsible for users\u2019 privacy and security.)<\/p>\n Plus, Google says that it would be required to tell all third-party app stores, without user consent, which apps a user has installed. This would expose personal apps\u2019 usage, including around sensitive areas like religion, politics or health, without rules about how that data could be used.<\/p>\n The company also said that Epic is asking it to remove safeguards around sideloading apps.<\/p>\n And in case those arguments fail, in another tactic, Google points out that the remedies Epic proposed are not needed because it already settled with state attorneys general to no longer sign wide-ranging exclusivity agreements with developers. Epic\u2019s proposal would additionally prevent Google from working with developers to provide exclusive content through Play Store apps, which it says is an important opportunity for developers.<\/p>\n Finally, the state AG settlement would allow any app store to compete for placement on Android devices, Google said, but Epic\u2019s proposal would cut it out of that process, reducing competition. Without Google involved, rival app stores would underbid, impacting OEM margins, it said.<\/p>\n The judge\u2019s coming decision over the remedy in this case will be an interesting one to watch as it will set the stage for how app stores deemed monopolists will have to make concessions to allow more competition. Though Epic lost its fight with Apple, the Justice Department\u2019s case against the iPhone maker is still underway as is its lawsuit with Google over its alleged search monopoly. The outcome of these cases will determine to what extent tech giants\u2019 power will continue to remain unchecked, given the glaring lack of legislation in the U.S. to reign in the tech monopolies.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n