Epic CEO says Apple, Google must be stopped from monopoly abuse

Gaming elephantine Epic's CEO connected Tuesday launched different broadside astatine Apple and Google, saying the tech giants indispensable beryllium stopped from abusing their power implicit the marketplaces for apps.

Epic Games, creator of the hugely fashionable Fortnite, is locked successful bitter ineligible battles with Apple and Google, whose operating systems tally astir each the smartphones successful the world.

Both tech giants complaint fees connected transactions made connected Apple's App Store and Google Play, and contend these are appropriate.

But app makers person go progressively furious successful caller years implicit that cut.

"Apple and Google... are utilizing their caller monopoly powerfulness to taxation and forestall competition," Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said astatine the Global Conference for Mobile Application Ecosystem Fairness successful Seoul.

"We indispensable not let these 2 companies to power our integer lives."

Epic is seeking to unit Apple to unfastened up its marketplace to 3rd parties, looking to circumvent the iPhone maker's procedures and commissions of up to 30 percent.

Sweeney besides took purpose astatine Google for charging fees connected payments it does not process.

"Only a monopoly tin bash that," helium said.

The Epic CEO and different league participants besides praised South Korea, which successful August became the archetypal state successful the satellite to walk a instrumentality banning Apple and Google from forcing developers to usage their outgo systems.

Mounting pressure

"Google Play's work interest has ne'er been simply for outgo processing," it told AFP successful effect to Sweeney's comments connected Tuesday.

"It's however we supply Android and Google Play for escaped and put successful the galore distribution, development, and security services that enactment developers and consumers."

AFP has reached retired to Apple for a effect to Sweeney.

Apple CEO Tim Cook defended its chopped during tribunal proceedings successful May, saying: "We are creating the full magnitude of commerce connected the store and we are doing that by getting the largest assemblage there."

Pressure has been mounting connected Apple and Google, including from immoderate large developers specified arsenic euphony streaming elephantine Spotify and dating work Tinder's genitor institution Match Group.

Apple and Google person besides raised the eyebrows of regulators successful large jurisdictions specified arsenic the European Union, Australia and India.

Both person made immoderate changes to their marketplaces since past year, however.

Google past period announced it would halve its committee connected subscriptions to 15 percent starting January 2022, saying 99 percent of developers would suffice for that complaint oregon less.

Apple reduced its committee to 15 percent for newcomers and developers making little than a cardinal dollars annually.

It had already chopped its 30 percent committee successful fractional for paid subscriptions aft the archetypal year.

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© 2021 AFP