The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advised a California judge on Monday that U.S. judges have extensive powers to restore market competition and penalize companies with illegal monopolies.
This guidance was provided in a friend-of-the-court filing to U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco, who is overseeing a lawsuit by Epic Games against Google.
Epic Games, creator of “Fortnite,” accuses Google of monopolizing app access and in-app payment methods on Android devices. Last year, a San Francisco jury agreed with Epic, finding that Google unlawfully stifled competition through its app distribution and payment controls. As a remedy, Epic has requested that the court mandate Google to allow app downloads from third-party stores and other internet sources, and permit developers to inform users about alternative payment options within apps.
While the FTC did not endorse Epic’s specific remedies, it emphasized that U.S. federal judges have the authority to grant relief necessary to restore competition lost due to illegal practices. The FTC suggested that Judge Donato should focus on enabling market entry for competitors.
Judge Donato is expected to resume evidence hearings on Wednesday. Neither Epic nor Google has commented on the FTC’s filing. Google has denied any wrongdoing and argued that Epic’s proposed changes would severely hinder its ability to compete.
Last week, a judge in Washington, D.C., agreed with the U.S. Justice Department’s position that Google had unlawfully monopolized web search by investing billions to establish itself as the internet’s default search engine. Google has denied these allegations.
The case is Epic Games Inc. v. Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 3:20-cv-05671-JD.
