CARY, N.C. (WNCN) – Less than a year after winning a multimillion-dollar legal battle over Google, the video game developer Epic Games has filed another lawsuit against the tech giant as well as Samsung, accusing them of illegally conspiring to block access to third-party app stores. In a blog post on its website, the Cary-based company alleges both companies of coordinating efforts to block competition in app distribution on Samsung devices, especially concerning the smartphone manufacturer’s Auto Blocker feature. Photos: Epic Games CFO lists North Carolina home for nearly $8 million Samsung claims Auto Blocker protects against “applications from unauthorized sources” and “malicious activity.” But, Epic Games says an opt-in feature, introduced on their mobile devices in October 2023, is now the default setting. Epic also states this prevents Samsung customers from downloading and installing any app from third-party stores unless they manually disable the function. Users can still authorize apps themselves, but it requires an "exceptionally onerous 21-step process" to do so. “Auto Blocker is the latest in a long series of dealings in which Google and Samsung have agreed not to compete to protect Google’s monopoly power,” according to a news release from Epic Games. “Auto Blocker cements the Google Play Store as the only viable way to get apps on Samsung devices, blocking every other store from competing on a level playing field.” The video game developer argues that Google has uncovered a new way to hold back competition and "preemptively undermine" the jury verdict from last December, which found that Google broke the law and was operating illegal monopolies through its app store and the in-app billing system for Android devices. Epic is pursuing unspecified monetary damages and has requested that the court prohibit Google and Samsung from "anti-competitive and unfair conduct and mandate that Samsung eliminate the Auto Blocker by default and enable competition." "The jury’s decision was unanimous and clear," the post from Epic Games stated. "Google’s agreements with [original equipment manufacturers] to block competition are illegal. This applies not only to Google, but to the device manufacturers that collude with them. We will take all necessary steps to ensure this decision is fully upheld." Samsung released the following statement regarding the lawsuit: “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 Games’ baseless claims.” The judge overseeing the previous Google case hasn’t issued an order yet on the remedies the tech giant will have to follow.