Americas

Google ordered to allow rivals access to the Play Store: federal judge's ruling

A US judge has forced Google to open the Play Store to competing developers after a lawsuit filed by Epic Games

8 October 2024

3' min read

A US federal judge ruled that Google will have to allow Android apps developed by competing companies on its Google Play Store for three years starting in November.

The decision comes in the wake of the lawsuit filed by Epic Games, creator of the popular video game Fortnite, against the technology giant and Samsung.

On Monday, Judge James Donato imposed a series of corrective measures, including opening the Play Store to rival developers.

Google has announced that it will appeal the ruling, requesting a stay of the measures.

Last December, a jury had already sided with Epic Games, which accused Google of restricting competition by controlling app distribution and payments on Android devices. "These changes would put consumers' privacy and security at risk, making it harder for developers to promote their apps and reducing competition on devices," Google said in a statement.

Epic claims that Google and Samsung have made it too difficult for consumers to download app stores made by external software developers. Specifically, the two allegedly agreed to make a feature called Auto Blocker active by default on Samsung's latest smartphones. The function prevents users from downloading alternative app stores. Deactivating the function and installing a third-party app store requires 21 steps. Thus Google Play is effectively the only possible way to access apps on these devices, Epic wrote in a complaint filed Monday in the Northern District of California.

Epic claims in its complaint that Google and Samsung have had a close relationship for more than a decade and that Google has paid Samsung billions of dollars to favour Google Play over Samsung's Galaxy app store.

Legal experts consider Judge Donato's decision to be a significant challenge to the power of a few technology giants. Among the various measures imposed by the judge, there is the obligation for Google to make its catalogue of apps accessible also on competing stores.

Google tried to defend itself by arguing that the Play Store operates in a competitive environment, citing its rivalry with Apple, which was also involved in a lawsuit filed by Epic Games in 2020. In that case, an appeal court ruled that Apple did not have a monopoly on mobile games.

Epic, based in Cary, N.C., has been at war with Google and Apple since 2020, after it began encouraging 'Fortnite' players to pay directly for in-game purchases of items, rather than using systems developed by the tech giants. In response, Google and Apple removed the game from their app stores. Epic sued, won the one against Google but lost the one against Apple.

Monday's ruling represents the latest legal blow suffered by Google in recent years over competition issues. In August, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in favour of the US Department of Justice, which accused Google of maintaining an illegal monopoly in online search. Last month, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema concluded hearings on similar allegations that Google had a dominant position in the digital advertising market.

Google's critics claim that the commissions, which can be as high as 30 per cent for each payment made on its app store, have driven up prices for consumers.

Although the case is in the US, the issue is of interest in Europe where the Digital Markets Act regulation explicitly prevents similar practices.