A federal judge mandates that Google allow competitors to access its Android app store.
A federal judge ruled that Google must remove the virtual barriers that prevented competitors from accessing its Android app store. This action was taken as retaliation for the company’s illegal monopoly, which had aided in the growth of its online empire.
Google has been fighting an injunction from U.S. District Judge James Donato, which will force the Mountain View, California-based company to implement a number of changes. One of the most significant is a requirement that its Play Store for Android apps distribute competing third-party app stores so users can download them to their phones if they so choose.
Additionally, competitors will be able to provide a competitive selection by having access to the millions of Android apps available in the Play Store library according to the judge’s decision.
Donato is granting Google until November to implement the changes outlined in his directive. The business had previously stated that it would take 12 to 16 months to create the security measures required to lessen the possibility that millions of Samsung phones and other mobile devices running its free Android software would become infected by potentially harmful software that finds its way into competitor Android app stores.
The goal of the court-mandated reform is to stop Google from stifling competition in the Android app market in an attempt to preserve a commission structure that has benefited one of the wealthiest businesses in the world and increased the market value of its parent company, Alphabet Inc., to $2 trillion.
Google claimed in a blog post that it will ask the court to pause the pending changes, and will appeal the court’s decision.
An appeals court affirmed a September 2021 judgement in which a federal judge mostly sided with Apple. Nevertheless, following a four-week trial that concluded last year, a jury found in favour of Epic Games, casting the Play Store’s operation as an unlawful monopoly.
That triggered another series of hearings this year to help Donato assess what actions might be made to restore fair competition. According to Google, Epic Games was requesting drastic measures that might have cost the firm up to $600 billion. Epic said that Google could achieve parity in the market for as little as $1 million. It’s unknown how much the improvements required by Donato will cost Google.
Even if Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple was unsuccessful, Donato’s decision may still have an impact on the iPhone app store as a separate federal court considers whether Apple is facilitating enough options for customers to pay for digital transactions. As part of U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ ruling in that lawsuit, Apple was directed to provide in-app connections to other payment methods; however, Epic claims the provision is being weakened by the establishment of another commission structure that stifles customer choice.
The impending Play Store reorganisation may only be the first unpleasant surprise antitrust law deals Google. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in the largest antitrust action the U.S. Justice Department has filed in 25 years