Epic Games is suing Google and Samsung for this phone setting

Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, has sued Google and Samsung, accusing them of working together to block third-party competition in app distribution on Samsung devices. The lawsuit centers around Samsung's "Auto Blocker" feature, which only allows apps from authorized sources like the Galaxy Store or Google Play Store to be installed. The feature is turned on by default but can be changed in a phone's settings. Epic Games claims that Auto Blocker is designed to entrench Google's dominance over Android app distribution and prevent competition. The company filed the lawsuit to prevent Google from negating the promise of competition in the Android app distribution market. Epic Games argues that the feature hurts developers and consumers and undermines regulatory and legislative progress. Samsung responded that it fosters market competition, enhances consumer choice, and conducts its operations fairly, and that users can disable Auto Blocker at any time. Epic Games claims that it takes a 21-step process to download a third-party app outside of the Google Play Store or Samsung Galaxy Store. The company won a previous antitrust lawsuit against Google, and claims that the Auto Blocker feature was crafted in coordination with Google to undermine that verdict. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney stated that true competition requires all reputable stores and apps to be free to compete on a level playing field.