CARY – Tim Sweney, CEO and majority owner of Epic Games, blasted a $700 million settlement by 50 states attorney generals with internet giant Google over antitrust complaints, calling it “an injustice.”

Sweeney took the X (formerly Twitter) on Monday after details of the settlement emerged just a week after Epic won a unanimous jury verdict against Google in its antitrust trial over how Google operates its app stores and fees that are charged.

“The State Attorneys General settlement is an injustice to all Android users and developers,” Sweeney declared.

“It endorses Google’s misleading and anticompetitive scare screens, which Google intentionally designed to disadvantage competing stores and direct downloads.”

The Associated Press noted in its report about the settlement that “Google has agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store — the same issue that went to trial in a another case that could result in even bigger changes.”

Epic: Verdict over Google is ‘victory for all app developers and consumers’

Epic, which is based in Cary, later issued a statement saying the states’  settlement doesn’t deal with the tech giant’s “unlawful and anticompetitive behavior” and provides “no true relief for consumers or developers.”

Terms of the settlement were reached in September before Epic’s trial concluded last week with a unanimous jury verdict against Google in its antitrust trial. But the details weren’t disclosed until Monday.

Later that night, Epic issued a statement from Corie Wright, its vice president of public policy, that criticized the deal and said that Epic would continue to press for changes in Google’s app story policies as its case continues. Google has said it will appeal the verdict.

“The State Attorneys General settled with Google before trial to get a one-time payout with no true relief for consumers or developers. After originally seeking $10.5 billion in antitrust damages identified as Google’s unjustly collected fees, the States Attorneys General settled for a $700 million payout.

“Consumers will continue to overpay for digital goods as a result of Google’s imposition of supracompetitive 30% fees for Google Play Billing or 26% junk fees on top of payments Google isn’t involved in processing. Developers will also continue to be restricted in how they distribute their apps, and developers who choose to use a third party payment option will be forced to use Google’s deceptively-labeled “user choice billing” system rather than having creative freedom over the design of their payment systems.

“In Epic v. Google, a jury unanimously found that Google violated the antitrust laws in its dealings with developers, potential competitors, and OEMs. The States’ settlement does not address the core of Google’s unlawful and anticompetitive behavior. In the next phase of the case, Epic will seek meaningful remedies to truly open up the Android ecosystem so consumers and developers will genuinely benefit from the competition that U.S. antitrust laws were designed to promote.”