Australian Court Finds Apple, Google Abused App Store Market Power

In Brief

Epic Games has conscionable secured a triumph successful its crusade against Apple and Google’s app shop policies: The Federal Court of Australia connected Tuesday ruled that Apple and Google’s engaged successful anti-competitive behaviour erstwhile it came to their respective app stores, ABC News reported.

While Judge Jonathan Beach recovered that nan 2 tech giants had abused their ascendant position successful nan marketplace for app distribution to limit competition, he rejected Epic’s claims that nan companies had engaged successful “unconscionable conduct.”

Epic Games has been fighting Apple and Google’s interest building for in-app purchases successful various jurisdictions astir nan planet. The institution scored a awesome triumph against Apple this twelvemonth successful nan U.S, and arsenic a result, Fortnite returned to Apple’s U.S. App Store aft 5 years.

Tuesday’s ruling could output a akin consequence for Epic successful Australia: nan company’s CEO Tim Sweeny said that nan Epic Games Store and Fortnite would return to nan Apple App Store successful nan state soon.

“We invited nan court’s rejection of Epic’s demands that we administer app stores from wrong nan Google Play store, and Epic’s attacks connected different captious information protections that users trust on. However, we disagree pinch nan court’s characterisation of our billing policies and practices, arsenic good arsenic its findings regarding immoderate of our humanities partnerships,” a Google spokesperson said successful an emailed statement.

Meanwhile, Apple told ABC News that its app shop is nan safest measurement for users to get apps, and that it disagreed pinch nan court’s ruling connected immoderate of Epic’s claims.

Subscribe for nan industry’s biggest tech news