Epic Games Secures Partial Victory Against Google and Apple in Australian Court
Epic Games achieved a partial victory in an Australian court against Google and Apple, who were found to have breached competition laws by pressuring app developers and abusing their app market dominance.
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Overview
- Epic Games secured a partial legal victory against Google and Apple in an Australian court, challenging their app store practices and in-app purchase fee structures.
- The Australian court ruled that both Google and Apple abused their dominant positions in the app market, limiting competition and pressuring developers.
- The case specifically addressed concerns about the tech giants' billing policies and their alleged breaches of competition laws in Australia.
- Google disagreed with the court's characterization of its billing policies, while Apple stated it faces fierce competition across all its operational markets.
- This ruling marks a significant step in Epic Games' ongoing global efforts to challenge the control and revenue models of major app store platforms.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame this story as a significant victory for Epic Games in its ongoing legal battles against tech giants. They emphasize Epic's "win" and "crusade" against app store policies, highlighting the positive outcomes for Epic while presenting the tech companies' disagreements as secondary to the narrative of Epic's success.
"The Federal Court of Australia on Tuesday ruled that Apple and Google’s engaged in anti-competitive conduct when it came to their respective app stores."
TechCrunch"Epic Games has won a partial victory in an Australian court in U.S. billionaire chief executive Tim Sweeney’s claim that Google and Apple engaged in anti-competitive conduct in running their app stores."
ABC NewsArticles (3)
FAQ
The Australian court ruled that Google and Apple abused their dominant positions in the app market by pressuring developers through contracts and technology to sell products exclusively via their app stores, limiting competition and breaching Australian competition laws.
Google disagreed with the court's characterization of its billing policies, disputing the findings related to its app store practices.
Apple stated that it faces fierce competition across all its operational markets, implying that it disagrees with the notion it has an abusive market dominance.
Following the court ruling, Epic Games announced that Fortnite and the Epic Games Store are returning to iOS in Australia, indicating a restoration of their app availability on Apple's platform.
The Australian Federal Court has combined the Google, Apple, Epic Games, and related class action cases into one consolidated case to avoid duplication of evidence in the legal proceedings.
History
- This story does not have any previous versions.