Epic Games sued Google and Samsung on September 30, 2024, alleging that Samsung’s default-on Auto Blocker made rival Android app stores harder to install and helped protect Google Play. The lawsuit was Epic’s second U.S. antitrust case involving Google, but its status has since changed: Epic settled with Samsung and dismissed the specified Auto Blocker-related claims without prejudice on July 7, 2025.
The Samsung case therefore did not produce a public ruling that Samsung violated antitrust law. The more consequential adjudicated backdrop is Epic’s earlier case against Google, in which a jury found Google liable in 2023 and the Ninth Circuit affirmed the verdict and injunction on July 31, 2025.
What Epic sued Google and Samsung over
The case was Epic Games, Inc. v. Google LLC, et al., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California as case no. 3:24-cv-06843-JD. The defendants were Google LLC, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Epic’s complaint centered on Samsung’s Auto Blocker, a device-security feature that can prevent installation of apps from sources Samsung does not treat as authorized. Epic alleged that the feature was enabled by default and created a broad barrier for users trying to install apps from outside Google Play or Samsung’s Galaxy Store.
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Epic’s legal theory went beyond saying that Samsung had chosen an inconvenient security setting. It alleged that Google and Samsung coordinated to make alternative app stores less viable, thereby protecting Google Play’s position in Android app distribution.
Those were allegations, not findings in the Samsung case. Epic’s first amended complaint, filed July 7, 2025, sets out the company’s claims and requested remedies; it does not establish that Google and Samsung unlawfully agreed or that Auto Blocker was illegal. Read the first amended complaint.
What Auto Blocker changes for Android users
There is an important difference between three things that are often collapsed into the word “sideloading”:
- Sideloading: installing an app from outside Google Play.
- Alternative app stores: separate storefronts, such as the Epic Games Store, that distribute multiple apps or games.
- Security warnings: a warning or confirmation screen that lets a user decide whether to continue.
Epic alleged that Auto Blocker went further than a warning. According to the complaint, its default behavior blocked installation from unauthorized sources unless the user changed device settings. Epic argued that this channel-based approach could obstruct an entire competing distribution route rather than assessing each app or source individually.
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That distinction is central to the dispute. Android may technically permit installation outside Google Play, but a feature that is enabled by default can make that option difficult to discover or use in practice. A user may need to find the relevant setting, understand why the installation was blocked, and decide whether changing it is safe.
Epic’s complaint characterized that friction as especially harmful to the Epic Games Store and other third-party stores seeking to reach Samsung owners. The complaint also alleged that Samsung had previously allowed installation from outside Play with fewer barriers. Those points remain Epic’s characterization of the facts, not a judicial determination.
Why Epic alleged Google and Samsung coordinated
Epic’s argument was that Samsung had alternatives to protecting Google Play. Samsung operates the Galaxy Store, so Epic said Samsung could have promoted its own store or remained neutral toward competing stores rather than making third-party installation more difficult.
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Epic alleged that Google benefited when Auto Blocker reduced access to rival stores, while Samsung’s Galaxy Store was not a sufficiently strong substitute for Google Play to create meaningful competitive pressure. From that, Epic argued that Samsung’s default-on policy made more sense as part of an arrangement with Google than as an entirely independent business decision.
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The complaint also connected the Auto Blocker theory to evidence from Epic’s earlier Google litigation. It alleged that Google had pursued arrangements with device manufacturers and other Android participants, including arrangements referred to as “Project Banyan,” to limit competition from Samsung’s store and other distribution channels.
Whether those allegations amount to an unlawful agreement would require proof. Parallel conduct, a commercial relationship, or a security policy is not automatically an antitrust conspiracy. A court would need to evaluate the evidence, the relevant markets, the purpose and effect of the conduct, and any legitimate business justification.
How this case differed from Epic’s first Google lawsuit
The 2024 lawsuit was not simply a continuation of Epic’s original case. It was a separate action with a different defendant mix and a sharper focus on Samsung’s device-level installation controls.
| Earlier Google case | 2024 Google-Samsung case |
|---|---|
| Filed in 2020 after Fortnite was removed from Google Play when Epic attempted to bypass Google’s required payment system. | Filed September 30, 2024, against Google and Samsung. |
| Challenged Google Play’s control over Android distribution, Google Play Billing, and alleged agreements with manufacturers, carriers, developers, and distributors. | Focused on Samsung Auto Blocker, default settings, and alleged coordination that disadvantaged alternative app stores. |
| A jury found Google liable in 2023 for antitrust violations involving Android app distribution and in-app billing. | Epic alleged that later conduct, including Auto Blocker, was not fully addressed by the original trial. |
| The Ninth Circuit affirmed the verdict and injunction on July 31, 2025. | Epic settled with Samsung and dismissed the specified Samsung and Auto Blocker-related claims on July 7, 2025. |
The timing mattered to Epic’s argument. The company launched the Epic Games Store on Android worldwide in August 2024, according to contemporaneous reporting, after the original Google trial had taken place. Epic argued that its practical experience trying to distribute an alternative store exposed barriers that the earlier case did not fully resolve.
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Epic’s first case produced the major court findings that frame the later dispute. In December 2023, a jury found Google liable for violating federal and California antitrust law in areas involving Android app distribution and Google Play Billing.
The district court then entered a permanent injunction restricting Google’s ability to use certain payments practices, incentives, device-manufacturer arrangements, and other measures to insulate Google Play and Google Play Billing from competition.
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On July 31, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the verdict and upheld the injunction. The court’s opinions described provisions affecting rival app stores, access to the Play Store catalog, OEM agreements, and billing arrangements. The injunction was described as running for three years from November 1, 2024 to November 1, 2027, although particular provisions and compliance deadlines were affected by stays and later appellate orders.
That qualification matters. The result was not that every Android phone instantly became equally open to every app store. The legal questions involved specific distribution, billing, incentive, and OEM practices. The practical impact depended on how the orders were implemented and on later proceedings.
The Ninth Circuit also described Google Play as accounting for 95% of Android app downloads in the United States as of 2020 and more than 80% worldwide excluding China. Those are historical figures from the trial record, not current 2026 market-share measurements.
What Epic asked the court to do
Epic sought injunctive and other antitrust relief. The complaint’s requested remedies included measures intended to prevent Google and Samsung from using allegedly anticompetitive arrangements or settings to block rival app stores and make alternative distribution impracticable.
Epic’s position was not simply that Samsung should eliminate device security. The complaint challenged the default-on blocking regime and sought relief that could make competing stores easier for users to install and reach. It also sought restrictions on Google’s alleged use of OEM agreements and other arrangements to protect Play Store distribution.
The requested relief should not be confused with relief actually granted. Because the Samsung-related claims were later dismissed through a settlement, there was no public merits judgment ordering Samsung to remove Auto Blocker or declaring the feature unlawful.
Epic settled with Samsung
On July 7, 2025, Epic filed a notice stating that it had reached a settlement with Samsung. Epic voluntarily dismissed the specified counts against the Samsung defendants and the Auto Blocker-related claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i), without prejudice.
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The dismissal notice identifies the Samsung defendants and Auto Blocker-related claims, but the cited public filing does not disclose the settlement’s business terms.
“Without prejudice” means the dismissal was not a judgment on the merits against Epic. It also does not mean that Epic won the case or that Samsung admitted wrongdoing. The public notice supports the narrower statement that Epic settled with Samsung and dismissed the specified claims.
Why the dispute matters even after the Samsung claims ended
The case targeted the practical conditions under which Android competition happens. Formal permission to install an app is only one part of distribution. Other factors include:
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- How easily users can discover an alternative store.
- Whether security prompts warn, delay, or block installation.
- Whether manufacturers receive incentives tied to Play Store placement.
- Whether competing stores can access app catalogs or must build their own.
- Which payment systems developers can use.
- How much trust users place in each storefront.
An alternative store can therefore be technically available but commercially weak. If ordinary users rarely encounter it, must navigate several warnings, or are told that installation is blocked until they change a setting, the store may struggle to attract both users and developers.
For developers, a more competitive distribution environment could create leverage over store fees, billing rules, discovery, and account requirements. For users, it could mean more choice—but also more storefronts, separate accounts, inconsistent refund policies, and a greater need to judge whether an app source is trustworthy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Security versus competition
The central policy question is not simply whether security is good or sideloading is good. It is whether a security measure is proportionate and applied in a way that does not unnecessarily suppress competition.
Relevant questions include:
- Does the device evaluate the app and source, or block an entire installation channel?
- Is the restriction enabled by default?
- Can an informed user override it without navigating an unusually difficult process?
- Are warnings clear, or are they designed to discourage any choice except the default?
- Does the same rule apply to all alternative stores?
- Could scanning, reputation systems, warnings, or explicit user confirmation address the security concern less restrictively?
Samsung and Google could argue that controls such as Auto Blocker reduce malware and protect users from deceptive or malicious installations. Epic could respond that a broad default restriction protects Google Play’s commercial position beyond what security requires. The strength of either position would depend on evidence, not on the label attached to the feature.
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Epic’s commercial interest
Epic is not a disinterested observer. It operates the Epic Games Store and wants to distribute Fortnite and other products without giving Google control over the route to users or a large share of transaction revenue.
The original dispute began after Epic attempted to bypass Google’s payment system, which led Google to remove Fortnite from Play. The Ninth Circuit described Google’s then-claimed 30% commission and Epic’s “Project Liberty” strategy for circumventing the required payment system.
That commercial motive does not decide whether Epic’s antitrust allegations are valid. It does, however, explain why Epic has challenged both payment rules and the practical barriers that can make an alternative store difficult to distribute.
What the lawsuits did not establish
- They did not establish that Google and Samsung were found to have conspired in the Auto Blocker matter.
- They did not establish that Samsung’s Auto Blocker was illegal.
- They did not make sideloading risk-free.
- They did not eliminate Google Play or make it irrelevant.
- They did not mean that every Android phone would present alternative stores identically.
- The Samsung settlement did not prove that Epic’s allegations were correct.
- The Google injunction did not instantly open every Android device to every app store.
Timeline
- August 2020: Epic begins its original app-store challenge after bypassing Google and Apple payment systems and having Fortnite removed.
- December 2023: A jury finds Google liable in the original Google case.
- August 2024: Epic launches the Epic Games Store on Android worldwide, according to contemporaneous coverage.
- September 30, 2024: Epic files the Google-Samsung lawsuit in the Northern District of California.
- November 1, 2024: The original Google injunction begins its stated three-year period, subject to stays and appellate modifications.
- July 7, 2025: Epic announces a settlement with Samsung and dismisses the specified Samsung and Auto Blocker-related claims without prejudice.
- July 31, 2025: The Ninth Circuit affirms the original Google verdict and injunction.
- September 12, 2025: The Ninth Circuit modifies compliance timing for parts of the injunction.
- As of August 16, 2026: Samsung is no longer an active defendant in the Auto Blocker claims covered by the dismissal. Google’s separate Play Store litigation and compliance developments should be treated independently.
What this means now
For Android users, the practical question is not whether Android is simply “open” or “closed.” Android can allow installation outside Google Play while defaults, warnings, discoverability, manufacturer choices, and security controls still make alternative stores difficult to use.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchFor developers, the Google litigation may create more room to negotiate distribution and billing, but the outcome depends on the exact injunction provisions, later orders, and how manufacturers and Google implement them.
For Samsung owners specifically, the 2024 lawsuit did not result in a public court ruling requiring Samsung to disable Auto Blocker. Any device behavior depends on the relevant Android and One UI version, regional configuration, and later software changes.
The lasting importance of Epic’s Samsung complaint is therefore its focus on the practical barriers around app distribution. The Samsung portion ended in a settlement rather than a merits ruling, while the earlier Google case supplied the major adjudicated findings that continue to shape the competitive rules around Google Play.
Primary documents: Epic’s first amended complaint, the Samsung dismissal notice, and the Ninth Circuit opinion on the Google injunction.
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