Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney always worried that his company's victory last year in a multimillion-dollar legal battle against Google's app store monopoly wouldn't be enough to open up competition. Even if Google could no longer keep alternative marketplaces out of Android, phone makers could make them harder to access. In a US lawsuit filed today in San Francisco, that's exactly what Epic claims Google conspired to do with Samsung.
Some newer Samsung phones have had settings changed to install apps from the web, such as Epic's app marketplace, according to Epic, which also develops Fortnite And Rocket racing. The requirement went into effect by default in July, and Epic launched its app store in August. Samsung claims that the feature it calls Auto Blocker protects against “applications from unauthorized sources” and “malicious activities.” But it extends the installation process from 15 to 21 steps, Epic claims. The company says it has found in the past that the greater the number of obstacles, the fewer people complete the process.
“This is not about reasonable measures to protect users from malware,” Sweeney told reporters in a briefing ahead of the trial. “It's about hindering competition.”
“Contrary to Epic Game's claims, Samsung actively promotes competition in the marketplace, expands consumer choice and conducts its business fairly,” a Samsung spokesperson said in a statement. “The features integrated into our devices are designed in accordance with Samsung's core principles of security, privacy and user control, and we remain fully committed to protecting users' personal data. Users have the choice to disable Auto Blocker at any time. We intend to vigorously dispute Epic Game's unsubstantiated claims.”
“This is a worthless lawsuit. Android device manufacturers are free to take their own steps to keep their users safe,” Google spokesperson Danielle Cohen said in a statement.
The lawsuit builds on an effort Epic launched in 2020 to provide more choice to mobile users and boost its own bottom line. While downloading apps, by any means, from virtually any source is generally easy on desktops and laptops, Apple and Google have used warnings and various policy and technical restrictions to prevent users from downloading from the iOS App Store and Google Play, which generates huge profits for the tech giants from the sales commissions they collect.
Epic won a small concession from Apple through a lawsuit that is still being fought over; Sanctions against Google are expected from a judge soon.
At the press conference, Sweeney acknowledged that Epic has no clear evidence that Google and Samsung worked together to roll out Auto Blocker. But emails and notes that Epic presented during its jury trial against Google last year showed how the search company regularly engaged in discussions with Samsung to limit competition. Google denied these allegations.
Early this month, Sweeney contacted two senior Samsung executives to ask them to reconsider the Auto Blocker approach and enable a smoother process for downloading legitimate software. Sweeney said a solution that benefited all developers could not be reached, prompting the lawsuit. “We will continue to fight until there is a level playing field,” he said. He added that suing Samsung, which has promoted Epic's offerings in the past, is “crap.”
Epic has achieved more than 10 million installs of its mobile app store, which is short of its goal of reaching 100 million by the end of the year, Sweeney said. He believes Auto Blocker and other new barriers, as he sees them, have hurt Epic's ability to gain traction. And its focus on the fight against Apple and Google is costing Epic significant amounts of money, with no end in sight to the lawsuit. “The benefits will only come in the future, when the barriers have really been removed,” he says.
Update 9/30/24 9:35am ET: This story has been updated with comment from Samsung.
Update 9/30/24 1:00 PM ET: This story has been updated with comments from Google.
