Epic Games’ case alleging Google ran its Play Store anti-competitively is “significantly more ambitious” than the Fortnite game maker’s claims against Apple, according to the search giant, which says its restraints are “more flexible and less draconian” than the iPhone maker’s.
Hitting back at claims that its App Store stifles competition, Apple has told a trial that app developers have myriad ways of maximising profits without paying it a commission, noting Epic Games made US$3.8 billion from in-game currency V-Bucks in 2021.
Google has criticised two competition class actions which piggyback on claims brought by Fornite developer Epic Games as “opportunistic”, but counsel for the class actions told a court the suits on behalf of more than 15 million group members were in the public interest.
A judge overseeing a landmark competition case against Apple and Google has questioned whether Apple’s US lawyers wrongly used court submissions in Australia to put pressure on Epic Games in Europe and justify temporarily removing its developer account.
Apple has made exceptional profits skimming a 30 per cent commission from sales on its app store, dubbed by the tech giant’s CEO an “economic miracle”, Epic Games has said on the first day of trial in a landmark competition case.
An Australian court will get a chance to weigh in on whether Apple and Google violated their dominant position in the app marketplace by requiring developers to use their payment systems or face a 30 per cent fee, when trial kicks off Monday in Fortnite game maker Epic Games’ case and two related class actions against the tech giants.
Apple has failed to prevent a funder from accessing data that will allow it to estimate potential damages in a class action it’s bankrolling over allegedly anti-competitive app store restrictions.
Apple is facing a new class action on behalf of iPhone 6 and 7 users whose phones were ‘throttled’, or slowed down, due to updates the Silicon Valley company made to its iOS operating system, which were aimed at conserving battery life.
Google and Apple will argue at an upcoming trial that allegedly anti-competitive app marketplace restrictions were necessary to protect security and intellectual property.
A judge has ordered lawsuits by Fortnite owner Epic Games against Apple and Google to be heard together with class actions against the tech giants on behalf of app developers and customers who accuse them of distorting competition in the app marketplace.