New claims have been added to the litigation against Google by Epic Games and Match Group. The two corporations claim that the search giant bribed app makers who built their Android app shops. A federal court in California’s Northern District has recently received the motion. Tinder and OKCupid are owned by Match Group, which is also responsible for the popular game Fortnite developed by Epic Games. Many businesses worry that Google has monopolistic power since it controls Android’s most popular app marketplace.
According to a lawsuit by Epic and Match last year, Google paid millions to keep popular Android developers on the Play Store in exchange for “agreements” like Project Hug, which was renamed the Apps and Games Velocity Program.
In its Friday legal brief, Match and Epic say that certain agreements were made to prevent the creation of alternative app marketplaces. Google is being sued for allegedly breaking the Sherman Act, the key antitrust legislation in the United States. In particular, it alleges that Google has committed a “per se” violation, meaning that the plaintiff need not prove that the accused behavior has had any harmful effects on the market (price fixing would be a per se violation, for example).
Google told Engadget in a statement that it was opposed to the measure. However, a representative for the company told the publication that they are looking forward to establishing the facts right in court as Epic and Match continue to add false claims to their failing cases.
According to the Google representative, the incentive scheme to which Epic and Match allude was designed to encourage developers to make new and updated content available to Google Play users ahead of schedule, among other things. According to Google, the initiative does not hinder programmers from making alternative app shops and is, in fact, evidence that Google Play competes fairly with other rivals for programmers, who have a wide variety of options in terms of operating systems and app stores.
