Epic Games is suing Samsung (and Google) for making it harder to sideload Android apps

Ben Schoon | Sep 30 2024 - 8:22 am PT

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Epic Games has opened a lawsuit over the difficulty of sideloading apps on Android, this time against both Samsung and Google over a new feature in One UI that adds another layer to blocking sideloading.

Sideloading apps on Android has existed since the beginning, unlike on Apple’s iOS where it’s only recently become available, even then with a huge set of hoops for developers and users to jump through, and only in the European Union. But sideloading an app on Android also isn’t particularly easy, as it requires enabling a few settings that are in place to prevent bad actors from sideloading malicious apps on your device.

On top of those existing settings, Samsung recently started enforcing a new aspect of its “Auto-Blocker” feature, first released in 2023 with a set of protections for apps, on newer Galaxy devices. The feature adds another layer to blocking sideloading apps that requires going into Settings manually to disable.

When the feature was first discovered earlier this year, Epic Games removed Fortnite from Samsung’s Galaxy Store as an act of protest.

Epic Games is suing both Samsung and Google over the feature, alleging that the feature is illegal and “cements the Google Play Store as the only viable way to get apps on Samsung devices, blocking every other store from competing on a level playing field.”

We are filing a court case against Google and Samsung over coordinated efforts to block competition in app distribution on Samsung devices with Samsung’s default-on Auto Blocker feature. Auto Blocker is the latest in a long series of dealings in which Google and Samsung have agreed not to compete to protect Google’s monopoly power.

There seem to be two main complaints on Epic’s side. Firstly, that third-party app stores cannot be included in “Auto-Blocker,” which would allow them to install apps without the added step. Second, that Samsung’s new feature is enabled by default and requires an “exceptionally onerous 21 step process to download an app outside of the Google Play Store or the Samsung Galaxy Store.” Epic details that process in its blog post, where the number is obviously exaggerated (as “installing” screens are counted as a full step, and toggling a switch is counted as two steps).

Epic claims that “Auto-Blocker” directly “undermines” the recent jury decision in the Epic vs Google case that’s been ongoing for years now, and where Google was found to have an “illegal monopoly” with the Play Store and its billing options.

Auto Blocker undermines the jury’s unanimous decision in Epic v. Google, specifically that “Google entered into one or more agreements that unreasonably restrained trade in a relevant antitrust market” including “Agreements with OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] that sell mobile devices”.

In the suit, Epic is asking for “Auto-Blocker” to be declared unlawful and mandate that the feature be removed or disabled by default.

Update: Google on Monday evening is out with a statement from Dave Kleidermacher (VP Engineering, Android Security and Privacy). The company explicitly says that it “did not request that Samsung create their Auto Blocker feature.”

“Epic’s latest lawsuit is a meritless and dangerous move. Google did not request that Samsung create their Auto Blocker feature.

While Android allows sideloading, Google and the security community have warned users for years about the real risks associated with downloading apps directly from the web. In the U.S., federal agencies, NGOs and fintech associations have guidance underscoring this issue. Governments around the world have requested additional solutions to help further protect users from the fraud, theft and abuse from sideloaded apps that are causing real harm to people’s lives. That’s why Google offers its own safety features such as Google Play Protect, which checks for harmful apps on a user’s device, regardless of where the app was downloaded. Android device makers are free to innovate and design additional safety features for their devices.

To make this about access to a game is deliberately misleading; this is about user safety. And Epic’s lawsuit puts their corporate interests above user protections.”