Epic’s suggested Play Store remedies are excessive, Google says

Google disagrees with the list of Play Store remedies suggested by Epic Games. Both companies have been facing each other in court for a long time. Late last year, a judge ruled in favor of the Fortnite devs regarding Google carrying out anti-competitive practices.

The court ruling against Google means that the company must make some notable changes to the way it runs the Play Store. With this in mind, Epic Games proposed a series of remedies to implement. However, the Mountain View company considers them excessive for an antitrust case. They also argue that they can endanger the safety of users.

Some of Epic’s suggested Play Store remedies that Google doesn’t like

As reported by TechCrunch, Epic Games wants Google to allow users to download Android apps from any third-party platform freely. Also, in-app purchases must be free of restrictions. The demands also include that the current Play Store fee system be revamped, or even eliminated.

Google responded through Wilson White, the company’s Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy, saying that the suggested remedies “would harm the privacy, security, and overall experience of consumers, developers, and device manufacturers.” They believe that Epic Games is exceeding the actual scope of the court ruling.

Protecting user security and privacy may be Google’s main argument

Google adds that there are suggestions that threaten user security. For example, the company cannot verify how safe all the apps available in third-party stores are. In addition, third-party stores would need access to the list of apps installed by the user. The latter would go against the company’s privacy policies.

Google resorting to protecting user privacy and security as an argument does not seem like a coincidence. Apple did the same in its legal confrontation against Epic Games itself for potential monopolistic practices. In that case, Apple emerged victorious, so Google could use that legal precedent to defend its position.

Google had already taken some measures

Following agreements with attorney generals, Google has already eliminated certain practices accused of being anti-competitive. One of them was the implementation of exclusive agreements with certain developers for better fee conditions.

The next “episode” of this legal battle will take place on May 23. The industry has its eyes on this case since its final ruling will set a legal precedent on which to judge other similar situations in the future.