To date, the only serious antitrust case brought against Google has largely centered around its alleged abuse of power in the Android app market. The plaintiffs in this case, Fortnite maker Epic Games and dating app giant Match Group, accuse Google of unfairly leveraging its market dominance and harming competition through its Google Play Store terms and practices. This trial will now proceed to a jury, where the public will get a chance to decide if Google has truly harmed competition in the mobile industry.
Eventually, Epic Games decided to sue Apple and Google for wrongful business practices, citing their refusal to feature the payment option on their respective app stores. In 2020, the direct payment option in Fortnite was one of the most popular features of the game, prompting Apple and Google to remove it from their respective stores. The lawsuit is still ongoing two years later.
If the DoJ voiced its concerns over how the lower court had misinterpreted U.S. antitrust law in November, it may be signaling that it plans to file its own suit against Apple within the coming months. This would likely invoke Epic’s appeal, and a final ruling could take years to come down. Meanwhile, anticompetitive practices by both companies continue to persist as they battle each other in courtrooms around the globe.
This difference in distribution platforms could give Google an advantage over Apple in the ongoing legal battle between the two companies. Apple’s tight control of app distribution on its platform may be limiting its ability to bring Epic Games legal action against it, as Fortnite can be installed on Android devices without any interference from Apple. This could work to Epic Games’ advantage as it attempts to prove that Google is in breach of contract and copyright infringement.
Big tech companies like Google are always being accused of using their market power to do things like squash competition and keep prices high. But in this lawsuit, Epic is accusing Google of using another method to keep competitors at bay – paying developers to keep their games on the Play Store. This program allegedly gives developers a financial incentive to create content for the Play Store, which theoretically allows for more choices for consumers and a level playing field. But Google insists that the program is simply proof that it competes fairly with myriad rivals for developers.
After a series of high-profile lawsuits, the Match Group has finally found its match in Google. The dating company filed a lawsuit against Google over the Play Store, accusing the tech giant of charging developers “exorbitant fees” for using its platform. To make up for these costs, Match is asking Google to reduce its reliance on third-party developers and instead offer more direct services to its own customers.
Google’s motion to dismiss the amended complaint was denied by the court, and now Epic and Match will have to prove their case against Google on new antitrust counts. The companies allege that Google uses its control of search algorithms to unfairly disadvantage its competitors, hurting their businesses. Whether or not these claims will be successful remains to be seen, but for now Google is defensive and ready for another battle in court.
Google’s refusal to preserve employee chats raises concern about the level of accountability taken for improper conduct. The missing information could make it difficult for investigators to determine if there was a broader culture of promoting inappropriate behavior. Without this evidence, it will be difficult to ascertain whether any individual employees are responsible for any wrongdoing.
Although the implication of the judge’s statement is that Google destroyed evidence related to the trial, it is unclear exactly what type of evidence she is referencing. It seems highly likely that she is referring to emails, documents, or other communication between jurors and attorneys which could prove improper communications. If this was indeed the case, then a substantial penalty would be warranted and Google would be in for a very long trial.
Based on the judge’s comments, it seems that Google may have had information potentially relevant to this case. The chat function could provide valuable evidence in relation to the case, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the future.
Since its inception, Google Chat has been an essential tool for online communication. However, as users’ chats accumulate over time, the platform can become cluttered and difficult to navigate. Beginning on November 10th, 2022, Google will begin to delete all user chats from its servers.
The lawsuits allege that Google violated antitrust laws by jointly raising fees from developers and then using those increased profits to subsidize its own products, including the Play Store. President Trump’s appointee to lead the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, Makan Delrahim, has also endorsed these complaints.
The Department of Justice’s antitrust complaint against Google alleges that the search engine giant pays out billions of dollars to Apple, Samsung, and other telecoms in order to maintain its position as the No. 1 search engine on mobile devices. The accusation has attracted criticism from some who argue that it unfairly advantages Google over its rivals.
