Google will have no choice but to open its application store – the Play Store that is installed by default on Android devices – to the competition. At least in the United States. This was ruled this Monday by a San Francisco judge, and the technology company will have less than a month to facilitate entry for other developers: the deadline is November.
The order is part of the video game company’s lawsuit Epic Gamescreator of Fortnite, who accused Google in 2020 of anti-competitive and monopolistic practices that included paying hardware companies or Android phone manufacturers not to include competing applications, a stock that Epic Games won at the end of 2023.
The ruling by federal judge James Donato forces Google to open the Play Store to competition for at least three years, so that it distributes the app download platforms of other companies, and also allows these platforms to access the catalog offered by the PlayStore. It should be noted that Android allows you to install third-party application stores on devices, but it is a more complex process than installing an app from the Google Play store. Now, downloading the Epic app store, for example, will be just as easy as downloading any other game or application.
The decision also prevents Google from paying developers to launch their applications exclusively or first with the Play Store, or forcing them to use its charging system. Google, for its part, has appealed the ruling, arguing that the judge “forgets the obvious,” and that is that “Apple and Android clearly compete” for consumers, which is why it has asked to pause the imposition of the ruling while the appeal is resolved.
Three years “to build a competitive Android ecosystem”
The executive of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, has indicated that its own app store, Epic Games Store, will be available in the Play Store in 2025 in the United States thanks to the ruling, which only applies in that jurisdiction, so “the battle legal and regulatory continues throughout the world.
«The Google Play Store order lasts three years. This means that all app developers, store creators, operators and manufacturers have three years to build a vibrant and competitive Android ecosystem with such critical mass that Google cannot stop it,” he added.
According to analysts, the ruling could have major repercussions for Google, which, like Apple, takes between 15 and 30% of total app sales on phones and tablets.
In December 2023, a jury found Google guilty of violating antitrust laws with its Play Store platform, dedicated to downloading mobile applications, which harmed the interests of video game developers such as Epic Games, as well as their users.
Google pledged to pay $700 million, make it easier for users to download apps outside of its platform, and allow developers to charge users directly for their services, instead of the Play Store, which charges a 30% commission. for managing payments.
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