Epic CEO: Google settlement with states doesn’t affect its ongoing antitrust suit

CARY – Epic Games remains in a fight with Google over in-app purchases and what its CEO calls a “tax” despite a reported settlement between attorneys general across the US and Google over mobile app control, says Epic CEO Tim Sweeney.

“Epic Games isn’t a party to the proposed Google Play settlement with the States Attorneys General,” Sweeney said in a tweet Wednesday after news emerged about the settlement.

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“We’re fighting for consumer and developer freedom to do business directly, free of monopoly stores, monopoly payment processors, and monopoly taxes.”

Tim Sweeney (Epic Games photo)

He then linked to a related story from patent news site Foss Patents.

Earlier, Sweeney hailed a European Union decision to declare Google as well as Apple and other companies as “gatekeepers” over internet commerce and thus are subject to tighter regulation.

“The designations affirm that Apple and Google are gatekeepers of the mobile Internet. They control how consumers access apps on their mobile devices and how developers reach consumers,” Sweeney said in a statement emailed to WRAL TechWire. “This is an important step towards opening up mobile devices to competition in app distribution and in-app payments. Apple and Google must not be allowed to skirt the law or delay compliance.”

What next for Epic-Google?

Epic is scheduled to square off with Google in court later this fall. The privately held company also is continuing a similar fight with Apple.

“In-app transaction prices are inflated by up to 30% by Google fees, versus 3% payment processing fees in competitive markets,” Sweeney added in his stream of tweets.

“If Google is ending its payments monopoly without imposing a Google Tax on third party transactions, we’ll settle and be Google’s friend in their new era.

“But if the settlement merely pays off the other plaintiffs while leaving the Google Tax in place, we’ll fight on. Consumers only benefit if antitrust enforcement not only opens up markets, but also restores price competition. The Google Tax is antithetical to that competition.”

Ahead of the Google settlement news, Sweeny spelled out Epic’s concerns to the attorneys general.

“Back in July, Epic sent a legal memo to the lead States Attorneys General outlining the importance of achieving price competition with injunction relief – including preventing Google from imposing unearned monopoly taxes on third party services,” Sweeney said.

“This injunctive relief is the only way to ensure consumers receive the benefit of fulsome competition among stores and payment services, in the form of lower prices. A settlement without this would leave in place exactly the anticompetitive practices we’re challenging in court,” he added.