Epic Games Accuses Google of Illegally Monopolizing App Market, Trial Begins

Epic's lawsuit alleges Google employs a "bribe and block" strategy to maintain a monopoly on app distribution and payment systems, claims Google denies highlighting its competition with Apple's iOS and the ability for other app stores to function on Android.

Epic Games' lawsuit against Google claims that Google employs a 'bribe and block' strategy to illegally maintain a monopoly on app distribution and payment systems on Android's Google Play store. Epic alleges that the vast majority of Android app installations are from Google Play, due to Google's allegedly unfair tactics.
Epic argues that Google's actions result in higher prices, lower quality, and less choice for consumers, due to the company's commissions ranging from 15% to 30% on purchases made within an app. In 2021, Google Play store generated over $12 billion in operating profit, which accounted for about 13% of parent company Alphabet Inc.'s total revenue.
Epic's attorney, Gary Bornstein, accused Google of discouraging competition and making it too difficult for consumers to download Android apps from outlets other than the Play Store. He called this a 'bribe and block' strategy, making competition like running on 'quicksand'.
Google counters Epic's allegations by arguing that its dominance over the Android app market is simply the result of competing fiercely with Apple's iOS App Store. The company's defensive strategy is to prove that it does not have a monopoly on app stores or phones in general.
In a controversial point, Google employees, including CEO Sundar Pichai, were found to have set sensitive chats to auto-delete, leading to court sanctions for potentially making evidence disappear. Epic used this against Google to cast doubt on Google's reputation during the trial.