Washington, D.C. — In response to news that a California jury ruled in favor of Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, in its lawsuit challenging Google’s monopoly power over its operation of the Google Play Store, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“This is a major victory in the fight against one of Google’s most profitable monopolies,” said Katherine Van Dyck, Senior Legal Counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project. “A jury of 9 has found that Google’s sweetheart deals, bribes and monopoly profits are illegal. Epic’s decision to forego monetary damages and instead pursue injunctive relief all but ensure that this decision will fundamentally reshape Google’s monopoly, which it has leveraged to exploit app developers and stifle innovation. This is a message that justice can prevail in the fight against Big Tech’s outsized power over our lives.”

“Economic Liberties urges Judge Donato to craft a strong remedy to ensure that app markets are open, accessible and competitive for honest businesses across the tech industry,” Van Dyck added. “We congratulate Epic on its hard fought win against one of the largest companies in the history of the world.”

In December 2022, a group of consumers and developers fled an antitrust lawsuit against Google alleging that the corporation’s monopoly power over its app markets allowed the company to impose supra-competitive commissions on app developers, charging up to a 30% take rate. Epic Games held strong and brought this case to trial against Google’s seemingly endless amount of legal resources, and a jury has spoken.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.