An epic battle is coming to the EU.
Epic Games, the creator of the popular video game Fortnite, filed an official complaint with the European Commission against Apple on Wednesday, arguing that the US technology giant is violating EU antitrust rules with its App Store and payment policy. The charges are similar to those filed by Epic against Apple and Google in US lawsuits.
Epic claims that Apple has “completely eliminated competition in the distribution and payment processes of apps” with unfair terms and conditions. The game developer also claims that the iPhone maker is using its control over its own operating system iOS and its ecosystem “to benefit itself while blocking competitors,” according to a company statement.
Apple’s ‘behavior is an abuse of a dominant position and in violation of EU competition law’, Epic said.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits against Apple that launched Epic in the US last summer. The arguments in Epic’s EU submission, such as the illegality of the mandatory use of Apple’s own in-app purchasing system, reflect other complaints against the company in Cupertino for which the European Commission opened probes in June.
Epic’s move follows a series of recent complaints against tech giants from the beginning of the industry such as Slack and Telegram. It also highlights concerns that Brussels is trying to address as part of its new rulebook to regulate Big Tech, known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
“What’s at stake here is the future of mobile platforms,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games. “Consumers have the right to install applications from their own sources and developers have the right to compete in a fair market.”
An Apple spokesman said: “Epic has activated a feature in its app that has not been reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent to violate the App Store guidelines which apply equally to every developer and to protect customers. ”
“Their reckless behavior has made customers pioneers, and we look forward to making that clear to the European Commission,” the spokesman added.
The Commission acknowledged receipt of the complaint and said it would assess it on the basis of standard procedures.
The strike began after Epic introduced a direct payment system in Fortnite to bypass Apple and Google’s app stores, which took a 30 percent share of the revenue for using their own payment processing systems. The two app store owners responded by blocking Fortnite players from installing and updating the game through Apple’s App Store and Google Play, arguing that Epic’s payment system did not meet their terms and conditions.
Epic brought Apple and Google to court in the US in August. It also sued Apple in November in Australia and in January in the United Kingdom for the same issue.
The gaming company insisted he was not claiming damages. “Epic just wants a change in policy,” Sweeney told reporters Tuesday ahead of the announcement.
The EU’s digital rulebook
“The DMA proposal contains provisions that could potentially address Epic’s claim,” the company’s antitrust attorney, Thomas Vinje, told reporters. But the DMA is not enough and will not be ready soon enough, he said.
The EU rulebook requires so-called gatekeepers – companies that have power and control over the entire platform ecosystems – to apply ‘fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory’ fees to businesses that sell through app stores. But “open up[ing] competition in stores … is not enough, ”Sweeney said. “It’s also important to open up payments.”
Since the DMA will take effect, it will take some time, Vinje said, ‘now is the time to move’ to the antitrust front. He acknowledged that the provisions in the DMA “indicates” that the Commission “understands that this is a very big problem.”
In June, Brussels opened two formal investigations against Apple over its App Store rules, focusing on music streaming and e-books. The messaging app Telegram also lodged its concerns about Apple’s revenue sharing rules with Brussels in July in a formal complaint.
Sweeney said he did not file a complaint against Google with the Commission, but that he did not rule it out in the future. “Right now we’re focusing on Apple,” the Epic boss said, adding that he still finds the best approach to these issues.
There are differences between Google and Apple, he continued, but the ‘underlying concern for both is uniform’.
Update: The article has been updated to include the Commission’s response.
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