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Google Engages in Second Antitrust Trial Against Epic Games in a Two-Month Span

Lanon Wee

Google and Epic Games will battle it out in court come Monday. This will serve as Google's second antitrust trial in a span of two months. This particular trial is centered on analyzing how Google behaves towards third-party application developers that use the Android Play Store. Both Apple and Google have been indicted by designers for not offering a fair division of profits from in-app payments and for making it challenging to keep in touch with their patrons. Google is headed to court for a second antitrust trial in two months, this time to contest claims in regards to its Play Store with Android. In Washington, D.C., the company is squaring off against the Department of Justice and a coalition of states, while in San Francisco concurrently, Epic Games began its trial Monday over the contentious issue of how Google works with third-party mobile developers. Apple, whose iPhone App Store is in competition with the Android Play Store, is expected to be a close observer of the case at hand. Accusations held against Google revolve around their large cut of revenue taken from in-app purchases and having restricted communication methods for app creators. If Epic is successful in the case, Google may be obligated to make changes to its store, such as lowering their fee for digital goods and services to 15%-30%. This could potentially facilitate easier access to the Epic Games store, as it would be pre-installed on devices. The conflict originated in August of 2020, when Epic pushed updates to Fortnite to allow customers to purchase digital goods directly from the company, rather than through app stores. As a result, Google and Apple removed Fortnite from their marketplaces, leading to the present lawsuit filed by Epic, that demands direct billing and the freedom to install the Epic store on smartphones. Epic's suit against Apple went to trial in 2021, and was then taken to an appeal earlier this year. Epic was defeated in nine out of ten counts, yet there is still the potential for triumph in terms of emailing customers, depending on whether the Supreme Court opts to hear their case. Google still has to confront the government on various antitrust matters. The Department of Justice's (DOJ's) case against the search engine giant is to determine if it broke the law via exclusive deals with mobile phone and browser makers to be the default option for consumers. Moreover, another trial to come in Virginia next year is centred around Google's online advertising sector and intends to force the company into divestitures. In the case against it brought by Epic Games, Google allows "sideloading", something not available with Apple, to be deployed as an argument. Epic are expected to cite possible violations of federal and California competition laws, as well as pointing out the many steps and taps needed to add an app on an Android device. Google defend themselves by saying they charge a reasonable rate and their fees are some of the lowest among major app stores, with 99% of digital content developers paying 15% or less. Prior to Match Group settling their complaints against Google, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that they would go to trial against Google alone. Witnesses to testify will include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, amongst others. Be sure not to miss out on CNBC PRO's latest stories:Bank of America's investment strategist anticipates that the S&P 500 correction could last up until it hits a certain level. According to Bank of America's chart analyst, a 'panic spike' could potentially occur from late October to November. The S&P 500 has moved into a correction phase, and this is most likely something that Warren Buffett sees as a positive. Moreover, Morgan Stanley auto analyst Jonas believes investors are gaining an understanding of the fact that Ford and GM are not the only way to benefit from the EV boom.

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