Google has finally silenced Tim Sweeney.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney might be one of the most outspoken figures ever. He has battled two of the world’s most valuable and powerful companies nearly all the way to the US Supreme Court, repeatedly criticizing them: “crooked,” “deceitful,” “insanely sneaky,” calling Android a “fake open platform,” labeling both companies as “gangster-style businesses,” and describing Google’s Project Hug as “astonishingly corrupt.”
However, Google has at last managed to silence Tim Sweeney. This outcome is evident in a binding term sheet from his settlement with Google.
On March 3rd, Sweeney not only relinquished Epic’s rights to sue and criticize the company, but he also gave up his right to push for changes to Google’s app store policies. He is prohibited from critiquing Google’s app store practices and is required to praise them.
The contract specifies that “Epic believes the Google and Android platform, with the changes outlined in this term sheet, are procompetitive and exemplary for app store/platform operations, and will make good faith efforts to advocate for the same.”
He may even need to appear in courts worldwide to defend this deal with Google, with Google ensuring his public statements support the deal going forward.
While Epic can remain part of the “Coalition for App Fairness,” the organization Epic solely funded to challenge Google and Apple, it can now only be directed against Apple.
You can view the relevant sections of the term sheet above, including Sweeney’s digital signature. The document states that it will expire five years after Google completes the last of its service fee changes, intended to happen by September 30th, 2027. Therefore, Sweeney might not be able to express his views about Google’s app store until September 2032.