A US judge has ordered Google to open its Android operating system to rival app stores, marking another legal setback for the tech giant.
This ruling stems from Google’s defeat in an antitrust case initiated by Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite. A California jury determined that Google holds an illegal monopoly through its Google Play Store, concluding their deliberations in just a few hours in December. The jury found that Google employed various illegal strategies to maintain its dominance in the app store market for Android devices.
Currently, Google is appealing the order, which follows another setback in August, when a different judge ruled that Google’s leading search engine also constituted an illegal monopoly. Additionally, Google faces an antitrust lawsuit in Virginia related to its dominance in online advertising.
Under the new court order, Google is prohibited from engaging in several anti-competitive practices for the next three years. These include revenue-sharing agreements with potential competitors and requirements that developers must launch their apps exclusively on the Google Play Store.
Furthermore, the judge has mandated the establishment of a three-person Technical Committee to oversee the implementation of these changes and to resolve any potential disputes.
This injunction poses a significant challenge to Google’s control over the Android app ecosystem and has the potential to reshape the mobile app landscape in the years to come. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney encouraged other companies to seize this opportunity to foster a vibrant and competitive Android ecosystem that could operate independently of Google’s influence
