The fight between Google v Epic and what it means for Apple
The judgement.
The fallout of the Google v Epic court case has significant implications for the tech industry, particularly for the app store business model.
The jury ruled in favor of Epic Games, finding that Google acted like an illegal monopoly in the way it distributes apps and bills within the app store. This verdict could potentially weaken app store rules and shift internet software back to a more open environment, rather than the app stores' closed ecosystems.
The case was different from Epic v Apple, where a judge reached a different conclusion.
In the Apple case, Epic largely lost, with the court ruling that Apple was not operating a monopoly. However, one issue is still up in the air: whether Apple should let all third-party developers point customers to websites to pay for purchases, bypassing Apple’s fees.
The Google v Epic case was decided by a jury, and the evidence presented showed that Google had engaged in anti-competitive practices, such as striking secret deals with Android phone makers like Samsung, which gave Google an unfair edge over other apps.
The fallout of this case could lead to major changes in the app store industry, potentially threatening the $200 billion business model that Google and Apple currently dominate.
However, Google plans to appeal the decision, so the final impact of the case may not be clear for some time.
As for what this means for Apple, the different outcomes of the two cases highlight the distinct circumstances and evidence presented in each trial. The Epic v Apple case was decided by a judge and included long digressions about topics like app store moderation, which gave a lot of airtime to Apple’s non-monopolistic rationales for a walled garden.
However, the ongoing issue of whether Apple should let third-party developers bypass Apple’s fees for purchaseswritten nges in Apple’s app store policies.
About the author
Rick Huckstep is a tech entrepreneur, writer and podcaster with a passion for making the complexities of the technology sector simple to understand.
For more, go to rickhuckstep.com
Sources:
- Epic Games beat Google but lost to Apple in monopoly lawsuits. What does it all mean? https://www.npr.org/2023/12/13/1218945531/fortnite-epic-games-google-apple-app-stores
- How Google’s Epic Legal Defeat Threatens the App-Store Industry’s $200 Billion Business Model https://time.com/6358193/epic-games-google-lawsuit-apple-app-store-business-model/
- Is This the Beginning of the End for Google? https://slate.com/technology/2023/12/google-epic-games-antitrust-fortnite-app-store-monopoly.html
- The Epic question: how Google lost when Apple won https://www.theverge.com/24003500/epic-v-google-loss-apple-win-fortnite-trial-monopoly
- Epic Games Wins Shocking Upset In Google Monopoly Trial https://kotaku.com/fortnite-epic-v-google-monopoly-trial-apple-1851092124
- Epic Games wins antitrust lawsuit against Google https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/18g9gip/epic_games_wins_antitrust_lawsuit_against_google/?rdt=39573
- Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney on why the company did better against Google than Apple in court https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/12/tim-sweeney-why-epic-did-better-against-google-than-apple-in-court.html
- The curious case of Epic Games: how the developer beat Google but not Apple https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/dec/16/epic-games-antitrust-google-apple
- Epic v. Google: everything we’re learning live in Fortnite court (Google loses) https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/18g9hfz/epic_v_google_everything_were_learning_live_in/?rdt=46882
- Epic vs. Apple: Fortnite, history, court ruling, appeal results https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/23/apple-versus-epic-games-fortnite-app-store-saga----the-story-so-far
- Google, Epic Games fallout an 'unexpected outcome’: Analyst https://youtube.com/watch?v=bbHQiAkxQBs
