Yesterday, Epic sued Samsung for One UI 6.1.1’s Auto Blocker feature. In its lawsuit, the company alleged that Auto Blocker was “intentionally crafted” in coordination with Google to pre-emptively undermine the ruling in Epic’s court cases against Google for app sideloading. Epic thus made Google a party to the suit. While Samsung is staying mum on the matter, Google has publicly denied collaboration with Samsung on it.
Google’s Head of Android Security and Privacy, David Kleidermacher, called Epic’s latest lawsuit a “meritless and dangerous” move. Further, he says that Google did not request that Samsung create its Auto Blocker feature.
David defends Google’s security practices for the Android platform, mentioning that Google and the security community have long warned users about the real risks associated with downloading apps directly from the web for sideloading purposes. Governments worldwide are said to have requested additional solutions to help further protect users from the dangers of sideloaded apps.
David also mentions Google’s own safety feature, Play Protect, which checks for harmful apps on a device regardless of their source.
Wrapping it up, he mentions that Android device makers are free to innovate and design additional safety features for their devices. Epic’s lawsuit puts its own corporate interests above user protections.
On the other hand, when The Verge reached out to Samsung for comments, the company would not confirm or deny whether it worked with Google on the feature. It also would not confirm or deny whether Auto Blocker actually scans an app for threats or suspicious activity. Here is the company’s full statement as provided by a Samsung spokesperson:
Contrary to Epic Game’s assertions, Samsung actively fosters market competition, enhances consumer choice, and conducts its operations fairly.
The features integrated into our devices are designed in accordance with Samsung’s core principles of security, privacy, and user control, and we remain fully committed to safeguarding users’ personal data. Users have the choice to disable Auto Blocker at any time.
We plan to vigorously contest Epic Game’s baseless claims.
It will be up to the courts to decide the actual situation, especially since Epic has no proof that Samsung and Google are colluding on the feature. If the claim does move forward, all the companies involved will have to make disclosures as part of the legal discovery process, and that is when Epic hopes to surface the collusion. We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out in the coming days.