Apple Okays Epic Games Marketplace App in Europe

Smartphone with Epic Games logo is seen in front of Apple logo in this illustration taken, May 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Smartphone with Epic Games logo is seen in front of Apple logo in this illustration taken, May 2, 2021. (Reuters)
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Apple Okays Epic Games Marketplace App in Europe

Smartphone with Epic Games logo is seen in front of Apple logo in this illustration taken, May 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Smartphone with Epic Games logo is seen in front of Apple logo in this illustration taken, May 2, 2021. (Reuters)

Apple said on Friday it has approved Epic Games' games marketplace app on iPhones and iPads in Europe, after the "Fortnite" maker escalated its feud with the technology giant, accusing it of hindering its efforts to set up a games store on the devices.

Apple said the latest spat concerned the Epic Sweden AB Marketplace and has nothing to do with the video games maker's Fortnite app which has already been given the green light.

Apps developers and antitrust regulators have criticized Apple's tight control of the iOS app ecosystem.

Before Apple's announcement, Epic said the iPhone maker had twice rejected documents the video-game publisher submitted to launch the Epic Games Store because the design of certain buttons and labels was similar to those used by its App Store.

"We are using the same "Install" and "In-app purchases" naming conventions that are used across popular app stores on multiple platforms, and are following standard conventions for buttons in iOS apps," Epic said in a series of posts on X.

"Apple's rejection is arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation of the DMA (Digital Markets Act), and we've shared our concerns with the European Commission," it said.

The European Commission, which opened an investigation into the checks and reviews put in place by Apple to validate apps and alternative app stores to be sideloaded last month, declined to comment.

Epic and Apple have been waging a legal battle since 2020, when the gaming firm alleged Apple's practice of charging up to 30% commissions on in-app payments on its iPhone Operating System (iOS) devices violated US antitrust rules.

Early this year, Apple proposed changes to its App Store policies to comply with certain directives of the DMA that went into force in March.

It allowed alternative app stores on iPhones and an opt-out from using the in-app payments system, but set a "core technology fee", which several developers found exploitative.



Google Will Pay Texas $1.4 Billion to Settle Claims the Company Collected Users’ Data without Permission

A Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, November 1, 2018. (Reuters)
A Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, November 1, 2018. (Reuters)
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Google Will Pay Texas $1.4 Billion to Settle Claims the Company Collected Users’ Data without Permission

A Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, November 1, 2018. (Reuters)
A Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, November 1, 2018. (Reuters)

Google will pay $1.4 billion to Texas to settle claims the company collected users' data without permission, the state’s attorney general announced Friday.

Attorney General Ken Paxton described the settlement as sending a message to tech companies that he will not allow them to make money off of “selling away our rights and freedoms.”

“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” Paxton said in a statement. “For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won.”

The agreement settles several claims Texas made against the search giant in 2022 related to geolocation, incognito searches and biometric data. The state argued Google was “unlawfully tracking and collecting users’ private data.”

Paxton claimed, for example, that Google collected millions of biometric identifiers, including voiceprints and records of face geometry, through such products and services as Google Photos and Google Assistant.

Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the agreement settles an array of “old claims,” some of which relate to product policies the company has already changed.

“We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services,” he said in a statement.

The company also clarified that the settlement does not require any new product changes.

Paxton said the $1.4 billion is the largest amount won by any state in a settlement with Google over this type of data-privacy violations.

Texas previously reached two other key settlements with Google within the last two years, including one in December 2023 in which the company agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store.

Meta has also agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas in a privacy lawsuit over allegations that the tech giant used users' biometric data without their permission.