Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, a famously vocal critic of Google and Apple, has agreed to a settlement with Google that severely restricts his ability to criticize the company. As part of the binding term sheet, Sweeney has signed away his right to disparage Google or advocate for changes to its app store policies until at least 2032.
The agreement requires Sweeney and Epic to publicly state that Google's Android platform is "procompetitive" and to make good faith efforts to advocate for it as a model. While Epic can still target Apple through the Coalition for App Fairness, Sweeney is now effectively muzzled regarding Google and may even have to appear in court to defend the settlement.
The main topics covered are the legal settlement between Epic and Google, the specific non-disparagement and advocacy clauses imposed on Tim Sweeney, and the effective end of his public criticism of Google's app store practices for nearly a decade.