Last Update: February 14, 2023, 14:43 IST
Epic Games is seeking an order to compel Google to comply with the CCI decision.
Pick Games is challenging Google in an Indian tribunal for non-compliance with certain portions of an antitrust directive, alleging that the tech giant is not hosting the gaming company’s App Store on Google’s Play Store app.
NEW DELHI: US firm Epic Games is challenging Google in an Indian tribunal for not complying with parts of an antitrust directive alleging that the tech giant was violating the gaming company’s App Store rules on Google’s Play Store app. Not hosting.
Epic’s claims are the latest legal issues to plague the Alphabet Inc unit in India. Last month, after losing a legal battle with the Competition Commission India (CCI), Google said it will make changes to its Android business model, including stopping the practice of forcing device makers to pre-install a bouquet of Google apps such as YouTube or Chrome.
However, Epic contended with an appeals tribunal in New Delhi on February 9 that Google had not complied with a part of the CCI’s directive that Google should host third-party app stores on the Play Store and that apps should not be downloaded without permission. Should be allowed to download freely used. The Play Store, a practice called “sideloading,” according to a copy of Epic’s submission reviewed by Reuters.
Epic, maker of the popular video game “Fortnite,” operates its own app store, the Epic Games Store, which offers games and other apps for download. The company has claimed in the filing that it is looking to “launch” the Games Store app on the Google Play Store and has been “adversely affected” by Google’s non-compliance with the CCI order.
Bakri Middleton, Director of Global Public Policy at Epic Games, said in a statement, “We are seeking Indian developers to join the court in supporting the CCI order, which requires Google to allow third-party app stores. needs to be given.”
Epic is known for its campaigns against Apple and Google for charging high commissions on the App Store. It has 95 lakh users in India.
Google said in a statement that it has “submitted its compliance plan to the CCI and will continue to respectfully comply with the legal process in India.”
CCI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In October the agency said Google took advantage of its dominant position in Android in India, where 97% of smartphones run on the operating system.
Google denied wrongdoing and sought to block that directive, warning the ruling would limit the growth of the Android ecosystem. The Supreme Court of India ordered Google to comply with the CCI’s directions, but allowed it to continue arguing its case before the New Delhi Appellate Tribunal, where Epic had filed its case.
Epic is seeking an order to compel Google to comply with the CCI decision, and the matter is likely to come up for hearing in the coming days.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)