Google claims Epic’s Play Store requests are too high and too selfish

epic games won an antitrust lawsuit It filed a lawsuit against Google in December, with a federal jury finding the latter violated U.S. antitrust laws in the way it operated the Play Store. A few months later, the game developer submitted a list of demands. If this is implemented, Expand your Play Store. Now, Google has filed an injunction with the court, saying it can’t give Epic what it wants without a fight because its demands “far exceed the court record.”

Engadget reported that the relief filed by Epic would require the court to not only create a global regulatory regime for setting app prices, but also to create a “very It also requires detailed management of a “complex and dynamic ecosystem,” Google wrote in its filing. and app developers around the world. As you may recall, Epic wants Google to open up Android to third-party app stores and make its catalog of apps available in those stores. It also calls for outlawing restrictions on pre-installed apps and banning Google’s efforts to encourage third parties.

Google said complying with all of these requirements “will effectively prevent.” [it] Google said in its filing that Epic’s proposal would only benefit Epic and harm other developers by taking control of where their apps are distributed. Manufacturers will no longer be able to do that. Users will have to deal with additional security and privacy risks while taking advantage of the partnerships Google typically offers.

The company also criticized Epic for the “vagueness” of the proposed injunction, which would require repeated and ongoing intervention by the courts. Similarly, Epic’s request would clearly require courts to micromanage Google’s business.

“Epic’s request will undermine the privacy, security, and overall experience for consumers, developers, and device manufacturers,” Wilson White, Google’s vice president of government affairs and public policy, told Engadget in a statement. Told. “Their proposals go far beyond the scope of recent U.S. court verdicts, which we object to, but they also go beyond the scope of recent U.S. court verdicts, which we dispute, but also the extent to which we have been working with the state attorneys general of each state and territory in the last year. With the settlement reached, that proposal is also unnecessary. We continue to keep people safe, partner with developers to innovate and grow our businesses, and build a thriving Android ecosystem for everyone. We will vigorously defend our right to a sustainable business model that sustains.”

If Epic really wants to promote competition, rather than create a “court-supervised unfair advantage” for itself, Google needs to negotiate with state regulators who previously accused the company of abusing its monopoly in distributing Android apps. He said he would take inspiration from the settlement. . Not surprisingly, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said, I am dissatisfied with the settlement, Tweet At the time, he said, “If Google ends its payment monopoly without imposing Google taxes on third-party transactions, we will settle and be Google’s new friend. Consumers will only benefit if antitrust laws not only open markets but also restore price competition. ”