An Australian court today found Google and Apple guilty of anti-competitive practices through the Play Store and App Store. The two technology giants are being sued collectively by an Australian law firm representing developers affected by the policies of the world's two largest app stores. The amount of compensation to be awarded has not been announced but is believed to be in the hundreds of millions of Australian dollars.
Google and Apple were found to have used their market dominance to reduce competition in violation of section 46 of the Australian Competition and Consumer Act. Among the offenses committed were not providing the option to purchase applications through other stores and making alternative payments outside their own ecosystem. This Australian court decision is similar to the decision of a US court which also found Google to be engaging in monopolistic business practices.
With this decision, Epic Games continued to announce that the Epic Games Store will be offered on Android and iOS in the near future. Both of these alternative store applications are banned from the Play Store and App Store. Android users are lucky because the Epic Games Store can be side-installed.
Google and Apple issued official statements disagreeing with the court's decision. Google said they will review the full results and assess what steps to take next.