An Australian court has found global digital platforms Apple and Google misused their market power to run their stores for smartphone apps.
The Federal Court, initially in an oral judgement, has ruled on a case brought by Epic Games, the developer of the game Fortnite.
Justice Jonathan Beach found Google and Apple breached section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act.
The judge has yet to release his full findings in a written judgement expected to run to 2,000 pages.
The Fortnite app was removed from the stores in 2020 when Epic Games offered its own payment system.
The case could lead the way to class actions to recover commissions charged for downloading apps.
Epic Games accused Apple and Google of running monopolies, forcing developers to use their platforms to sell apps.
The judge said Apple had "engaged in conduct… that had the purpose or is likely to have or had the effect of substantially lessening competition".
Apple welcomed the Australian court's rejection of some of Epic's claims, but “strongly disagree” with the court's ruling on others.
Google said the court recognised the stark difference between Android's open platform and Apple’s closed system, affirming that Android gives Australian consumers and developers significantly more choice and flexibility, including through multiple app distribution options beyond Google Play.
"We welcome the court’s rejection of Epic’s demands that we distribute app stores from within the Google Play store, and Epic’s attacks on other critical security protections that users rely on," said a Google spokesperson.
"However, we disagree with the court's characterisation of our billing policies and practices, as well as its findings regarding some of our historical partnerships, which were all shaped in a fiercely competitive mobile landscape on behalf of users and developers.
"We will review the full decision when we receive it and assess our next steps.”
A class action by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers alleges unfair and excessive commission fees charged in relation to the App Store and Play Store.
A Senate Economics References Committee in 2023 recommended the federal government introduce laws to “to prevent anti-competitive practices” through the bundling of payment services and products by large digital platforms.
The Influence of international digital platforms report also raised concerns over app store providers tying the use of app store services to the use of their in-app payment services.
“Other jurisdictions such as the European Union and South Korea have introduced measures that require major app store operators such as Apple and Google to unbundle the use of their proprietary in-app payment systems from the use of app distribution services,” the report said.
In 2023, a jury in the US found that Google’s Play Store and tied billing service was an illegal monopoly.
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