Google Doesn't Want to Discuss Deal with Spotify at Antitrust Hearing

Google asks the court not to discuss its deal with Spotify (photo: dock. Google)

JAKARTA – The agreement between Google and Spotify was discussed in the antitrust trial with Epic Games. However, Google's response was quite stiff and looked like it was keeping a secret.

From a report by The Verge, Google's attorney, Glenn Pomerantz, asked the court to remove discussions regarding Google's User Choice Billing with Spotify at the next hearing.

In the agreement between Google and Spotify, the music platforms can use their own payments and still pay Google. Even though the essence of the agreement looks normal, Google feels that the disclosed agreement could be detrimental to its party.

"Disclosure of the Spotify deal would be very, very detrimental to the negotiations we will have with other parties," Pomerantz told the judge this morning, on Thursday, November 9.

Pomerantz said Google had no problem with it being the two numbers that had been given to the jury, but they objected to this information being revealed out loud given the large media presence during the trial.

For your information, Epic Games has been fighting Apple and Google since 2020. Initially, Epic collaborated with Spotify, but the application joined as a Google partner in 2022.

As a partner of Google, Spotify is part of a pilot program called User Choice Billing. This program will help developers in providing payments to Google.

In Google's statement, the program means developers pay four percent less. Android application developers only need to pay 26 percent of the total 30 percent through this program.

Epic is suing Google for not allowing their apps to have their own payment methods. Looking at this problem, the judge asked, "Would it solve your problem, Epic, if Google did that (allowed its own payment method)?"

Currently, it is not known whether the court will keep the agreement documents between Google and Spotify confidential. However, Epic insisted that the document be accepted by the judge even though the court could not make a decision today.