Epic Games has officially initiated a legal battle against Google, this time including Samsung in the lawsuit. The company accuses both tech giants of attempting to illegally block third-party app stores.
Epic Games Enters Legal Warfare!
The lawsuit filed by Epic Games focuses on Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature, which comes enabled by default on its new phones. This feature only allows users to install applications from authorized sources, namely Google and Samsung’s app stores. Epic claims there is no process for recognizing competing app stores as authorized.
Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, argues that the Auto Blocker is designed to prevent competition rather than provide protection against malware. Epic asserts that this feature has turned the process of installing a third-party app store into a cumbersome 21-step ordeal.
In addition, Epic suspects that Google and Samsung have been secretly collaborating on this matter, although the company admits it currently lacks concrete evidence. It hopes that such evidence will emerge during the legal proceedings.
This lawsuit is a continuation of the first antitrust case that Epic won against Google last year. Epic Games claims it is fighting on behalf of all app developers and not just seeking privileges for itself.
The case is seen as a significant development that could shape the control of tech giants over app stores and the future of competition in the mobile ecosystem. It appears that Epic Games is willing to take on three different giants simultaneously: Apple, Google, and now Samsung.
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