Google’s “devastating” antitrust loss against “Fortnite” maker Epic Games this week is a potential game-changer that could open up the Big Tech firm and others to a wave of restructuring, according to one of the company’s most vocal critics.
Matt Stoller, the director of research at the antitrust watchdog group American Economic Liberties Project, said the jury’s unanimous verdict that Google maintained an illegal monopoly through its Android app store marked the first time a “really powerful Big Tech firm” had lost a major antitrust case.
“There are going to be appeals and stuff, but over the next five years or so, I suspect that Google is going to start settling, they’re going to start agreeing to split off pieces, because they know they’re going to lose, it’s not worth it. There’s lots of legal uncertainty,” Stoller told journalist Glenn Greenwald on his “System Update” show.
“I know there’s a lot of cynicism, but this is actually how we restructure these companies,” Stoller added. “It’s actually sort of astonishing that it’s working.”
The jury’s decision set a crucial new court precedent that will likely influence the proceedings in a series of antitrust battles that Google and other large firms face, Stoller added.
Google is awaiting a judge’s ruling on the landmark Justice Department case targeting its online search empire, as well as separate probes of its digital advertising business and Google Maps business.
“Now all of a sudden, the precedent is such that these cowardly judges are going to have to find a reason to rule for Google instead of before when they had to find a reason to rule against Google,” Stoller said. “I think it’s going to flip all of these cases and it’s going to be much harder for Google to win them.”
As The Post has reported, experts say the Google v. Epic verdict could upend the business model that has underpinned the company’s profitable Play store, where it had previously charged large companies fees of up to 30% on in-app purchases and mandated that they use the company’s billing system.
US District Judge James Donato will next decide on which illegal business practices Google must scrap. The judge could order Google to stop making payments to large app developers to dissuade them from launching rival app stores or to discontinue its billing requirements, among various other potential remedies.
In May 2024, Judge Amit Mehta will decide Google’s fate in the DOJ case alleging it has maintained an illegal monopoly over online search.
The Post reached out to Google for comment on Stoller’s remarks.
Meanwhile, Google has already said it plans to challenge the verdict in the Epic case.
“Android and Google Play provide more choice and openness than any other major mobile platform,” said Wilson White, the company’s vice president of government affairs and public policy. “The trial made clear that we compete fiercely with Apple and its App Store, as well as app stores on Android devices and gaming consoles.”
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