It seems Google’s recent Android setback in India, perhaps was just the beginning of a slew of other lawsuits that may follow the company. In a fresh one, Fortnite-maker Epic Games is challenging the California-headquartered Google in an Indian tribunal.
In a filing with an appeals tribunal in New Delhi on February 9, the US firm claimed that Google failed to comply with a part of the directives imposed upon it by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and was yet to allow the gaming company’s app store on Google’s Play Store app. As part of the directive by the CCI, Google is to allow the hosting of third-party app stores on its own Play Store app. This would allow users to download apps freely without using Play Store, a practice called “sideloading,” and allow app developers to bypass the hefty commission that Google charges on in-app transactions on its Play Store.
That it is not doing so is in violation of the order of the CCI, which Google had promised to comply with last month. The tech giant has repeatedly shown its displeasure over the imposition of the directive imposed upon it by India’s antitrust watchdog, claiming that it would stall the growth of its Android ecosystem in the world’s second-largest internet market.
97% of smartphones in India run on the operating system, something that Google exploited to the fullest before being exposed by the CCI and being slammed with a hefty fine in October 2022. It then entered into a legal tussle with the CCI as it denied any wrongdoing on its part and sought to stall that directive, but failed to win the legal fight as it was ordered to follow the CCI directives and pay the hefty fine of ₹1337 crores. Following the loss in the legal battle, Google said that it will bring changes to its Android business model, such as not putting a halt on forcing device makers to pre-install Google apps such as YouTube or Chrome.
In the filing, Epic claimed that it was “exploring launching” the Epic Games Store (its own app store, which offers games and other apps to be downloaded) on the Google Play Store, but Google’s non-compliance with the CCI order “adversely affected” its plans. “We are seeking to join Indian developers in court to support the CCI’s order that requires Google to allow competing for third-party app stores,” Bakari Middleton, Director of Global Public Policy at Epic Games, told Reuters in a statement. For its part, Google said in a statement that it has already submitted its “compliance plan to the CCI and continue to respectfully follow the legal process in India.”
