Fortnite Maker Epic Games Wins Antitrust Case Against Google Over Play Store Monopoly

gadgets.ndtv.com:

Fortnite maker Epic Games has prevailed in its high-profile antitrust trial over Alphabet's Google, which alleged the Play app store operated as an illegal monopoly, in a ruling that if it holds could upend the entire app store economy.

Jurors found for Epic on all counts, a court filing showed, after more than a month of trial in Epic's lawsuit, which accused Google of taking action to quash competitors and charge unduly high fees of up to 30 percent to app developers. The court in January will begin work on what remedies to implement.

The ruling marks a stunning defeat for Google, which alongside Apple operates one of the world's largest app stores. If the ruling holds, it has the potential to give developers more sway over how their apps are distributed and how they profit off them.

Google said it would appeal. "We will continue to defend the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem," Wilson White, vice president of government affairs and public policy at Google, said in an emailed statement.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney on Monday cheered the ruling on social media site X, calling out "the Google Play monopoly."

Victory over Google! After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts. The Court's work on remedies will start in January. Thanks for everyone's support and faith! Free Fortnite! https://t.co/ITm4YBHCus

Lawyers for the two companies made their final arguments on Monday morning and the federal judge handed the case to the jury less than four hours earlier, with instructions that a decision must be unanimous.

Among Epic's allegations were that Google illegally ties together its Play