Fresh antitrust pressure on platforms

Two antitrust fights landed in the same week: Aptoide sued Google over Android app distribution, and a jury found Live Nation and Ticketmaster ran an illegal ticketing monopoly. (reuters.com) (nbcnews.com) Aptoide filed its complaint in San Francisco federal court on April 14, saying Google shut out rival Android app stores by controlling both app distribution and in-app billing. The Portuguese company said it wants an injunction and treble damages under United States antitrust law. (reuters.com) Aptoide describes itself as the world’s third-largest Android app store and said Google’s “anticompetitive chokehold” kept it from putting more price pressure on Google Play. Reuters reported Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. (reuters.com) The Google case arrives after Epic Games won a jury verdict in December 2023 that found Google unlawfully maintained monopoly power in Android app distribution and Android in-app billing. A federal judge issued a permanent injunction in October 2024, and the Ninth Circuit later upheld that result. (cravath.com) The Live Nation case turned on a different gatekeeper business: ticketing for major concert venues. A Manhattan federal jury found on April 15 that Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally maintained monopoly power after a trial that began March 2. (nbcnews.com) (ag.ny.gov) New York Attorney General Letitia James said a coalition of 33 states and Washington, District of Columbia, kept pursuing the case after the Justice Department settled with Live Nation on March 9. The jury found Ticketmaster unlawfully maintained a monopoly in ticketing services at major concert venues, according to the states’ announcement. (ag.ny.gov) (pbs.org) The Justice Department had originally sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in May 2024 with 30 state and district attorneys general, accusing the company of using its control over promotion, venues and ticketing to block rivals and raise costs. Live Nation has said the ticketing market includes many competitors and that high prices often reflect artist popularity, not monopoly conduct. (justice.gov) (nbcnews.com) Both cases focus on the same basic antitrust question: whether a company that controls the main route to customers can also dictate the fees and rules on that route. In one case the route is Android app downloads and payments; in the other it is access to concert tickets at major venues. (reuters.com) (justice.gov) The next steps are different but familiar: Google now faces another private lawsuit on ground that courts have already scrutinized, and Live Nation faces post-verdict remedies and likely appeals. The pressure point in both fights is the same one regulators and rivals have targeted for years — the platform that sits between sellers and buyers. (reuters.com) (nbcnews.com)