Epic Sues Google, Samsung Over App Store Barriers

Epic Games has filed a second antitrust lawsuit against Google, this time including smartphone maker Samsung, which it accused of colluding with Google to make it difficult for users to install the wildly popular game Fortnite on newer devices.

Fortnite is distributed on Android through Epic’s own app store, and the company said its legal action is designed to force companies to allow fair competition from other third-party app stores.

Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature, which is enabled by default on newer Samsung phones, stops users from installing apps unless they come from “authorised sources” such as the Samsung or Google app stores.

Epic said it has been trying to get Samsung to introduce a whitelisting process for apps to bypass Auto Blocker, but was unable to come to an agreement with the company.

Competition

Epic was barred from the Google and Apple app stores in 2020 after introducing its own third-party payment system.

It sued both companies for monopolistic practices, and a victory in the Google case last December allowed Epic to introduce its own Android app store worldwide as of August of this year.

The firm also launched the app store for Apple devices in the EU under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, but Fortnite is still unavailable for iPhones in the UK.

In its new case Epic claims that a month before the Epic Games Store launch in August, Samsung decided to enable Auto Blocker by default, making it more difficult for buyers of new phones to install competing app stores.

The company claims it now requires “an exceptionally onerous 21-step process” to download a third-party app store onto a Samsung device, and that half of would-be Fortnite users give up before completing the process.

The process takes only 12 steps on other Android devices, according to Epic.

Auto Blocker

Users reported that when Auto Blocker prevents an app store from loading, it no longer explains how to turn the feature off.

Users must manually search for Auto Blocker, then pass through several warning screens to turn it off, users said.

“The thing’s not designed to protect against malware, which would be a completely legitimate purpose,” said Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney.

“The thing’s designed to prevent competition.”

Samsung said Auto Blocker is enabled by default on new devices, but that this is displayed in the initial setup wizard, during which users can turn it off.

“Contrary to Epic Game’s assertions, Samsung actively fosters market competition, enhances consumer choice, and conducts its operations fairly,” Samsung said in a statement.

‘Meritless’

“The features integrated into our devices are designed in accordance with Samsung’s core principles of security, privacy, and user control, and we remain fully committed to safeguarding users’ personal data. Users have the choice to disable Auto Blocker at any time.”

The company said it would “vigorously” contest the case.

“This is a meritless lawsuit. Android device makers are free to take their own steps to keep their users safe and secure,” Google stated.