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Epic Games on Wednesday extended its global legal fight against dominant mobile app store operators with a new legal claim against Google in Australia. The complaint accuses Google of “anti-competitive conduct in violation of Australia’s Consumer Law” and also accuses the search giant of violating the country’s Competition and Consumers Act of 2010.
The legal claim follows a similar action against Apple in Australia filed last November, and Epic’s legal fight against app stores now spans the European Union, the UK and the US as well as Australia.
The main target of the complaint is one we’ve heard before: that it’s time for Apple and Google to allow app makers to bypass the 30 percent cut through alternative app stores or alternative in-app payment systems. , and now it’s a common cry to the growing number of businesses, app developers, and regulators grappling with the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
Epic says that Google “abuses its control over the Android operating system, restricting competition in processing payments and distributing applications on the Google Play Store. This harmful behavior stifles innovation, reduces consumer choice and inflates prices, ”the press release states.
“Google gives the illusion of being open when arguing about the presence of alternative app stores on its platform or by allowing direct download of apps from third-party providers, but in reality these situations are so rare that they hardly make a dent in the monopoly of it Android operating system, ”Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement.
“The barriers that Google places on the Android operating system are real,” adds Sweeney. It refers to actions that Google takes, such as warning users about downloading software outside of the Play Store, as methods to scare users into only downloading approved software. “It is actions like this that illustrate that Google is more interested in pretending to be open than offering options to consumers. We believe that consumers have the right to install applications from the sources they choose and developers have the right to compete in a fair market. “
This argument differs slightly from the one Epic has used against Apple in similar proceedings, as Google allows alternative app stores and side-loading of apps not approved by the Play Store. But “Google also makes it extremely difficult to download applications directly to Android devices, forcing the vast majority of users to obtain applications through the Google Play Store,” argues Epic. Epic says it is also “participating in the Australian competition regulator’s review of mobile app markets.”
