Google ordered to open up Play app store to competition

A U.S. judge on Monday ordered Alphabet’s Google to overhaul its mobile app business to give Android users more options to download apps and to pay for transactions within them, following a jury verdict last year for Fortnite maker Epic Games.

The injunction by U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco outlined the changes Google must undertake to open up its lucrative app store, Play, to greater competition, including making Android apps available from rival sources.

Donato’s order said that for three years Google cannot prohibit the use of in-app payment methods and must allow users to download competing third-party Android app platforms or stores.

The order restricts Google from making payments to device makers to preinstall its app store and from sharing revenue generated from the Play store with other app distributors.

Google and Epic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Alphabet shares were down 2.2% following the ruling. Donato said Epic and Google must establish a three-person technical committee to implement and monitor the injunction. Epic and Google each get a pick, and those two members will select the third person.

Google has said it plans to appeal the verdict that led to the injunction, and it could ask the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause Donato’s order pending appeal.

Donato said his injunction would go into effect on Nov. 1, which he said will give Google time to “bring its current agreements and practices into compliance.”

Epic’s lawsuit, filed in 2020, accused Google of monopolizing how consumers access apps on Android devices and how they pay for in-app transactions.

The Cary, North Carolina-based company persuaded a jury in December 2023 that Google unlawfully stifled competition through its controls over app distribution and payments, paving the way for Donato’s injunction.

Google had urged Donato to reject Epic’s proposed reforms, arguing they were costly, overly restrictive and could harm consumer privacy and security. The judge mostly dismissed those arguments during an August hearing.

“You’re going to end up paying something to make the world right after having been found to be a monopolist,” he told Google’s lawyers.

In a separate antitrust case in Washington, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta on Aug. 5 ruled for the U.S. Justice Department and said Google had illegally monopolized Web search, spending billions to become the internet’s default search engine.

Google also began a trial in September in Virginia federal court in a Justice Department lawsuit over its dominance in the market for advertising technology.

Google has denied the claims in all three cases.

—Mike Scarcella, Reuters


https://www.fastcompany.com/91205167/google-android-play-app-store-competition-epic-judge?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Vytvořeno 9mo | 7. 10. 2024 22:40:20


Chcete-li přidat komentář, přihlaste se

Ostatní příspěvky v této skupině

Yahoo Creators platform hits record revenue as publisher bets big on influencer-led content

Yahoo’s bet on creator-led content appears to be paying off. Yahoo Creators, the media company’s publishing platform for creators, had its most lucrative month yet in June.

Launched in M

11. 7. 2025 17:30:04 | Fast company - tech
GameStop’s Nintendo Switch 2 stapler sells for more than $100,000 on eBay after viral mishap

From being the face of memestock mania to going viral for inadvertently stapling the screens of brand-new video game consoles, GameStop is no stranger to infamy.

Last month, during the m

11. 7. 2025 12:50:04 | Fast company - tech
Don’t take the race for ‘superintelligence’ too seriously

The technology industry has always adored its improbably audacious goals and their associated buzzwords. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is among the most enamored. After all, the name “Meta” is the resi

11. 7. 2025 12:50:02 | Fast company - tech
Why AI-powered hiring may create legal headaches

Even as AI becomes a common workplace tool, its use in

11. 7. 2025 12:50:02 | Fast company - tech
Gen Zers are posting their unemployment era on TikTok—and it’s way too real

Finding a job is hard right now. To cope, Gen Zers are documenting the reality of unemployment in 2025.

“You look sadder,” one TikTok po

11. 7. 2025 10:30:04 | Fast company - tech
The most effective AI tools for research, writing, planning, and creativity

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. 

11. 7. 2025 10:30:04 | Fast company - tech