Key Points:
- Portuguese company Aptoide filed a new antitrust lawsuit against Google in a federal court in San Francisco.
- The lawsuit accuses Google of violating US antitrust law by monopolizing Android app distribution and billing.
- Aptoide claims it could offer developers better prices if Google did not maintain an anticompetitive chokehold on the market.
- A jury previously found Google guilty of unlawfully stifling competition in a separate 2023 case brought by Epic Games.
Google faces yet another massive legal battle over its business practices. On Tuesday, a Portuguese company named Aptoide filed a brand new antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant. The lawsuit accuses Google of completely shutting out rival Android app stores. Aptoide claims that Google uses its massive power to monopolize both app distribution and digital billing, which directly violates United States antitrust law.
Aptoide specializes in mobile games and proudly calls itself the third-largest Android app store in the world. The company believes it could offer much better services if the market were truly fair. Aptoide executives stated they would exert substantially more pressure on Google’s pricing and corporate policies if they had the chance. However, they claim Google maintains a tight, anticompetitive chokehold on the entire Android ecosystem that intentionally shuts out smaller, innovative rivals.
Google, which operates as a major unit of Alphabet, did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the new lawsuit. The tech giant usually waits to review the full legal complaint before issuing any public statements.
Based in Lisbon, Aptoide actively brands itself as the premier alternative Android app store. The company built a massive platform over the last decade. By 2024, Aptoide boasted a catalog of roughly 436,000 mobile apps and attracted more than 200 million users annually.
Despite this impressive growth, Aptoide claims it suffers from constant, irreparable financial harm caused directly by Google. The Portuguese company says it offers much lower commission rates to software developers and cheaper overall costs to everyday users. However, Aptoide argues that Google unfairly deprives rival app stores of exclusive content from top developers. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims Google aggressively steers those developers back toward its own Google Play store by tying their success to other must-have digital services that only Google controls.
Lawyers filed the official complaint in a federal court in San Francisco. The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against Google to stop the alleged anticompetitive practices immediately. Aptoide is also asking the court to award unspecified triple damages to cover the massive financial losses the company suffered over the years. This is not the first time Aptoide has fought the tech giant. The Portuguese company actually filed a completely separate complaint against Google with European Union antitrust authorities back in 2014.
Google has a very messy history with antitrust lawsuits over its app store. Last November, the tech giant finally agreed to make significant changes to its Android operating system and app store policies. This agreement settled a bitter, five-year-old antitrust case originally filed by Epic Games, the famous maker of the popular Fortnite video game.
The Epic Games lawsuit proved incredibly damaging to Google’s public image. In 2023, a federal jury found that Google unlawfully stifled market competition to protect its massive profits. Following that guilty verdict, the trial judge ordered sweeping, mandatory reforms the following year to force Google to open up its digital ecosystem.
Google also recently defended itself against a massive antitrust case brought by the United States government. In August 2024, a federal judge officially ruled that Google’s famous internet search engine operates as an illegal monopoly. The judge declared that the company used unfair tactics to crush search competitors and maintain its dominant position on the internet.
Following that specific guilty verdict, the judge ordered the Mountain View, California-based company to start sharing its valuable search data with smaller rivals. However, the judge stopped short of issuing the ultimate punishment. The court did not force Google to sell off its Android operating system or its popular Chrome web browser. Both Google and the United States government quickly appealed that final decision, ensuring the legal fights will drag on for several more years.
