Epic Games is suing Google (again) and Samsung

Epic Games has gone on a number of legal pursuits in an effort to break down the walls set in place by platform holders like Google and Apple. At this point, Epic has succeeded in winning the legal right to produce its own app store for smartphones. However, it would seem that Google and Samsung aren't playing ball, coordinating efforts to stifle competition.

Google has been known to leverage its wealth to secure partnerships to ensure that the Google Play Store remains on top for Android devices. According to Epic Games, this is happening once again, with Samsung, the most popular Android phone manufacturer, using an Auto Blocker feature to dissuade users from installing the third-party Epic Games Store application.

In a statement, Epic Games outlined its case, saying: “Today we filed a lawsuit against Google and Samsung alleging that they illegally colluded to block competition by turning the Auto Blocker feature *on by default* on Samsung devices. This undermines the progress made to open up Android devices to competition.”

In a blog post, Epic goes into a bit more detail, saying:

“Our litigation alleges that Samsung’s recent implementation of the Auto Blocker feature was intentionally crafted in coordination with Google to preemptively undermine the U.S. District Court’s remedy following the jury’s verdict in Epic’s case against Google. The jury found that Google’s app store practices are illegal, including the unlawful agreements Google enters into with phone manufacturers such as Samsung.”

For those out of the loop, Auto Blocker is a security feature introduced to smartphones by Samsung back in late 2023. The setting disables the user's ability to install apps from all third-party sources, except for the Samsung Galaxy Store and the Google Play Store. Initially, Auto Blocker was an opt-in setting but as of July 2024, it is now switched on by default for users. Due to the number of ‘scare screens' that pop up when trying to install something like the Epic Games app, many users may be tricked into thinking it is malicious software and choose not to install, thus hampering competition.

Epic Games asserts that this feature “undermines the jury's unanimous decision in Epic v. Google”. The company also provides evidence of Google's long history of working with Samsung, including Revenue Sharing agreements. Google and Samsung have not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit or the allegations it contains.

KitGuru Says: Obviously, Google and Samsung also have a side here but at a glance, the complaint from Epic Games does appear to have legs here.

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