Epic Games accuses Samsung, Google of scheme to block app rivals

By Mike Scarcella

(Reuters) – “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games on Monday accused Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:) Google and Samsung (KS:), the world’s largest Android phone manufacturer, of conspiring to protect Google’s Play store from competition.

Epic said it would file a lawsuit in U.S. federal court in California alleging that a Samsung smartphone security feature called Auto Blocker was in truth intended to deter users from downloading Android apps from sources other than the Play store or Samsung’s Galaxy store, which the Korean company elected to put on the back burner.

Samsung and Google are violating U.S. antitrust law by reducing consumer choice and preventing competition that would make apps less expensive, Epic said.

The game company said Samsung’s Auto Blocker was designed to blunt the impact of a U.S. verdict that Epic won against Google in December 2023 that is expected to force the company to make apps easier to obtain from other sources.

Epic said it will also raise its competition concerns with regulators in the European Union, which has long scrutinized Google’s business practices.

Epic Chief Executive Tim Sweeney called the lawsuit part of a “major global fight” to defend competition and its benefits for consumers.

Samsung introduced Auto Blocker on its smartphones in late 2023 as an opt-in feature to protect users from downloading apps that may contain malware. Epic said Samsung made Auto Blocker the default setting in July and intentionally made it difficult to disable or bypass.

Cary, North Carolina-based Epic Games sued Google in 2020, claiming it stifled competition through its controls over app distribution and payments.

In that case, U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco is weighing what changes the company must make to its app business after the jury’s December finding that it held an illegal monopoly.