Google Ordered By US Court To Open Competition On Its App Store For Three Years

Gooogle clashes with Epic Games (photo: x @TimSweeneyEpic)

JAKARTA The United States Court has ordered Google to open competition in its app store, Google Play, to provide Android users with more options on how they download apps and make in-app payments. This decision comes after Epic Games' win, popular game maker "Fortnite," in an antitrust lawsuit accusing Google of monopolizing app and payment access on Android platforms.

Judge James Donato of San Francisco District Court gave Google an order to change the business structure of its app store, after the jury ruled last year that the company violated competition laws.

In his order, Donato required Google to allow users to download applications from competing third-party app platforms or stores, and not to ban the use of payment methods within the app for the next three years.

In court order details, Google is also prohibited from making payments to device manufacturers for them to install Play Store exclusively on Android devices. In addition, Google should not share revenues earned from the Play Store with other app distributors, a practice considered by the court limiting competition.

The order, which took effect on November 1, 2024, gives Google time to adjust their business agreements and practices in accordance with court orders. Additionally, Google and Epic Games are required to form a technical committee consisting of three people to monitor the implementation of this decision. Two members were selected by each company, while third members would be selected by both parties.

Google responded to this decision by declaring it would appeal to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco and requesting that the execution of the order be postponed until the appeal process is complete. In an official statement, Google expressed concern that this change could have "unintended consequences" for consumers, developers, and device manufacturers in the United States.

Big news! The Epic Games Store and other app stores are coming to the Google Play Store in 2025 in the USA - without Google's scare screens and Google's 30% app tax - thanks to victory in Epic v Google.https://t.co/1g6uuw1CJB

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 7, 2024

Big news! The Epic Games Store and other app stores are coming to the Google Play Store in 2025 in the USA - without Google's scare screens and Google's 30% app tax - thanks to victory in Epic v Google.https://t.co/1g6uuw1CJB

Epic Games Welcomes This Decision

Meanwhile, Epic Games CEO Timmen, called this order a "big news" on social media X (formerly Twitter). He stated that Epic Games Stores and other app stores will be available on Google Play in 2025.men's added that app developers, app store makers, and other business people have three years to build a competitive Android ecosystem so that Google can no longer monopolize the market.

Epic Games' lawsuit was first filed in 2020, on charges that Google has monopolized the way consumers access apps and make payments within apps on Android devices. In December 2023, the jury found Google guilty of these allegations, which eventually led to an injunction order from Judge Donato.

Other Google Monopoly Cases

This decision is one of several legal challenges facing Google regarding alleged monopoly practices. Last August, Washington's Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google illegally monopolizes the web search market by spending billions of dollars on default search engines on various devices and platforms. The case is an antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice.

In addition, Google is also facing a lawsuit related to dominance in the advertising technology market in federal courts in Virginia, where the trial of the case only started in September 2024. In all these cases, Google has denied allegations of monopoly and confirmed that they are still competing healthily in various markets.

After the court's decision, Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., closed down 2.5% to USD 164.39 on Monday, October 7, 2024. This shows that the court's decision has the potential to affect the profits it has made from Google Play, which is one of the important sources of revenue for Google.

With the various legal pressures being faced, Google seems to have to face significant changes in its business operations, especially related to app stores and other digital services that have been one of the company's main powers.