By Victor Swezey


The Federal Trade Commission advised a district court to use its power to "break up or render impotent the monopoly power" of Google and restore competition in a case brought by Epic Games.

The agency said Tuesday in an amicus brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that injunctive relief should ensure the tech giant cannot continue to profit from behavior considered anticompetitive.

Videogame maker Epic Games in 2020 accused Google of using its dominant position in its Play Store to extract extra profits from app developers through practices including monopolizing Android app distribution and in-app purchases.

A San Francisco jury in December ruled in unanimously in favor of Epic Games.

The FTC also said in its brief that courts in the future should consider aspects of digital markets such as network effects and data feedback loops that help established players gain advantage by locking in users and advertisers.

The brief comes as Google faces a number of antitrust challenges, with a district court in Washington, D.C. finding last week that Google also holds an illegal monopoly on search.


Write to Victor Swezey at victor.swezey@wsj.com; @vicswezey


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-13-24 1141ET