American video game publisher Epic Games has sued smartphone maker Samsung and Google, accusing them of preventing the download of its app.
In the latest version of its operating system, Samsung activates, by default, the “Auto Blocker” functionality, which prevents the installation of an application outside the stores of the South Korean group (Samsung Galaxy Store) and Google (Google Play Store).
This decision constitutes, according to Epic Games, a deviation from the spirit of the decision handed down in December 2023 by a Californian jury, which had estimated that Google had a monopoly on the application distribution market on Android, its mobile operating system. .
The juries thus ruled in favor of Epic Games, at the origin of the procedure.
For this reason, the video game publisher decided to take legal action again before the US civil courts to obtain a ban on what it considers an anti-competitive practice, it said in a press release published on Monday.
Epic Games wants to prevent smartphone manufacturers from requiring app developers to use their download platforms as well as their payment systems, allowing them to collect significant commissions in the process.
The creator of the successful game Fortnite got, in 2021, a US federal judge to force Apple to authorize an alternative payment system within its App Store.
But the magistrate also considered that Epic Games had not provided sufficient evidence to prove that Apple had violated competition law.
“Illegal anti-competitive practices”
According to the statement of claim filed in federal court in California against Samsung and Google, the video game publisher seeks compensation for lost revenue related to the blocking of its application, without providing an amount.
In addition to the favorable ruling in December 2023, several laws have been adopted around the world in recent years to limit the control of technology giants over the smartphone ecosystem.
In 2021, South Korea enacted a law forcing Apple and Google to open their operating systems to alternative payment systems.
In Europe, the regulation of digital markets, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force in March, is forcing the six largest global technology players to open their platforms to competition.
Source: BFM TV
