Google case spreads, games on Android can change completely
Photo: Huawei (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic)
- Google has been hit by a series of cases. Antitrust lawsuits are still underway in Europe, the United States and Japan, now Google has to accept new lawsuits.
Google is accused of being unfair towards third-party mobile application developers on Android. This week, Google will face off against veteran mobile game developer, Epic Games.
Google's trial will be monitored by Apple, which operates a rival app store, the App Store, for the iPhone.
Application developers assess that the two technology giants take unfair commissions from in-app payment revenues. Google and Apple are also said to make it difficult for developers to communicate with customers.
If Epic wins, Google will be forced to make major policy changes to the Android platform. Currently, Google takes a 15-30% commission from in-app payments.
Epic Games wants to create its own application store that is automatically loaded (pre-installed) on users' devices. That way, users can bypass the Google application store system when they want to download games.
The friction between Google and Apple and Epic Games began in August 2020. At that time, Epic Games provided updates for the game Fortnite directly in its application. That way, customer payments don't need to go through the application store.
As a result, Epic Games was kicked from the Google and Apple app stores. Epic Games also sued the two companies.
Epic Games' trial against Apple was held in 2021 and earlier this year. Epic lost 9 of the 10 counts.
Meanwhile, the trial with Google will begin this week. Google argues that the commission cut for in-app payments is actually very small.
As many as 99% of payments are cut by around 15%. Only 1% will be subject to a 30% discount, quoted from CNBC International, Tuesday (7/11/2023).
Overall, Epic's case against Google is exactly the same as its case against Apple. The difference is, Google allows 'sideloading', namely downloading Android applications outside the application store. This does not apply to Apple.
According to inside sources, Epic will testify that Google's sideloading policy is ineffective. The reason is, Google's market dominance makes it difficult for users to get access to applications outside the Google application store.
Kasus Google Meluas, Game di Android Bisa Berubah Total
Foto: Huawei (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic)
- Google terkena kasus bertubi-tubi. Masih berjalan gugatan antimonopoli di Eropa, Amerika Serikat, dan Jepang, kini Google harus menerima tuntutan hukum baru.
Google dituduh bersikap tak adil terhadap pengembang aplikasi mobile pihak ketiga di Android. Pekan ini, Google akan berhadapan dengan pengembang game mobile kawakan, Epic Games.
Persidangan Google akan dipantau Apple yang mengoperasikan toko aplikasi saingan, App Store, untuk iPhone.
Pengembang aplikasi menilai dua raksasa teknologi tersebut mengambil komisi yang tak adil dari pendapatan pembayaran dalam aplikasi (in-app payment). Google dan Apple juga disebut membuat pengembang kesulitan berkomunikasi dengan para pelanggan.
Jika Epic menang, Google terpaksa harus membuat perubahan kebijakan di platform Android secara besar-besaran. Saat ini, Google mengambil komisi 15-30% dari pembayaran dalam aplikasi.
Epic Games ingin membuat toko aplikasi sendiri yang dimuat otomatis (pre-installed) di perangkat pengguna. Dengan begitu, pengguna bisa melewati sistem toko aplikasi Google ketika hendak men-download game.
Gesekan antara Google dan Apple dengan Epic Games dimulai sejak Agustus 2020. Kala itu, Epic Games menyediakan pembaruan untuk game Fortnite langsung di aplikasinya. Dengan begitu, pembayaran pelanggan tak perlu melewati toko aplikasi.
Akibatnya, Epic Games ditendang dari toko aplikasi Google dan Apple. Epic Games pun menuntut dua perusahaan tersebut.
Persidangan Epic Games melawan Apple sudah digelar pada 2021 dan awal tahun ini. Epic kalah dalam 9 dari 10 dakwaan.
Sementara itu, persidangan dengan Google akan dimulai pada pekan ini. Google berdalih komisi yang dipangkas untuk in-app payment sebenarnya sangat kecil.
Sebanyak 99% pembayaran yang dipotong berkisar 15%. Hanya 1% yang kena potongan 30%, dikutip dari CNBC International, Selasa (7/11/2023).
Secara keseluruhan, kasus Epic melawan Google sama persis dengan kasusnya melawan Apple. Bedanya, Google mengizinkan 'sideloading', yakni download aplikasi Android di luar toko aplikasi. Hal ini tak berlaku di Apple.
Menurut sumber dalam, Epic akan bersaksi bahwa kebijakan sideloading Google tak efektif. Pasalnya, dominasi pasar Google membuat pengguna kesulitan untuk mendapatkan akses aplikasi di luar toko aplikasi Google.