Epic Games, the maker of the popular video game “Fortnite,” has accused Google (GOOGL) and Samsung (SSNLF) of conspiring to protect Google’s Play Store from competition. Epic filed a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court in California, alleging that Samsung’s mobile security feature, Auto Blocker, was designed to discourage users from downloading apps from sources outside of the Play Store or Samsung’s Galaxy Store. Samsung is one of the largest manufacturers of Android phones in the world.
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Epic Alleges Samsung and Google Violate Antitrust Law
In its lawsuit, Epic has argued that this collaboration between Google and Samsung violates U.S. antitrust law by restricting consumer choice and preventing competition that could potentially make apps more affordable. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, pointed out that the case is about unfair competition, and that Google and Samsung are misleading users into believing that third-party products are inferior to those offered by the companies themselves.
Additionally, Sweeney further stated, “Google is pretending to keep the user safe, saying you’re not allowed to install apps from unknown sources. Well, Google knows what Fortnite is, as they have distributed it in the past.”
Samsung Responds to Epic’s Allegations
In response to these accusations, Samsung asserted that it plans to “vigorously contest Epic Games’ baseless claims.” The company pointed out that users have the option to disable Auto Blocker whenever they choose. Samsung introduced Auto Blocker late last year as an opt-in feature to protect users from downloading potentially harmful apps. According to Epic, Samsung made Auto Blocker the default setting in July and deliberately made it challenging to disable or bypass.
Epic Has Previously Clashed With Google and AAPL
Historically, Epic has previously clashed with both Google (GOOGL) and Apple (AAPL) over their app store rules, particularly regarding the up to 30% commission charged on in-app payments. Following a nearly four-year ban, Epic’s “Fortnite” game recently returned to iPhones in the European Union and to Android devices globally.
Is Google a Buy, Sell or Hold?
Analysts remain bullish about GOOGL stock, with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 29 Buys and nine Holds. Over the past year, GOOGL has increased by more than 20%, and the average GOOGL price target of $201.97 implies an upside potential of 22.7% from current levels.
