san francisco |A federal judge on Monday ordered Google to tear down the digital wall that protects its Android app store from competition, as punishment for maintaining an illegal monopoly that helped expand the company’s internet empire.
The injunction issued by U.S. District Judge James Donato would require Google to make several changes that the Mountain View, Calif., company has resisted. These include provisions that require the company to distribute its Android apps to rival third-party app stores so that consumers can download the apps to their phones if they wish.
The judge’s order also gives rival companies access to the millions of Android apps in the Play Store library, giving them a competitive option.
Donato has given Google until November to make the changes outlined in the order. The company is trying to reduce the chance that potentially malicious software could sneak into rival Android app stores and infect millions of Samsung phones and other mobile devices running free Android software. It claimed it would take 12 to 16 months to design the necessary safeguards.
The court-ordered review comes as part of an effort to protect the fee system that has been a boon for one of the world’s most prosperous companies and helped boost the value of the app market. The purpose is to prevent the Parent company Alphabet Inc. worth $2 trillion.
In a blog post, Google asked the court to suspend the pending changes and said it would appeal the court’s decision.
Donato also said that for three years until November 1, 2027, Google will not be able to share revenue from the Play Store with anyone who distributes Android apps or is considering launching an Android app distribution platform or store. It was decided that It also does not allow developers to pay developers or share revenue to release their apps first or exclusively on the Google Play Store, and does not allow developers to contract with manufacturers to identify the Google Play Store. You will also no longer be able to preinstall it in the location. Android device. They also won’t be able to require apps to use their own billing systems or tell customers they can download the app elsewhere and for a cheaper price.
The Play Store has earned billions of dollars a year for years, primarily through the 15% to 30% fees Google charges on digital transactions completed within Android apps. This is similar to the pricing structure that Apple has rolled out in its iPhone app store. This pricing structure is what prompted video game maker Epic Games to file an antitrust lawsuit four years ago to encourage competition that could lead to lower prices for both app makers and app makers. . consumer.
A federal judge largely sided with Apple in a September 2021 ruling that was upheld by an appeals court. Still, after a four-week trial completed last year, a jury found in Epic Games’ favor and found the Play Store an illegal monopoly.
As a result, another hearing will be held this year to determine what steps Mr. Donato should take to restore fair competition. Google claimed that Epic Games was seeking extreme changes that could cost as much as $600 billion. Epic argued that Google could level the playing field for as little as $1 million. It’s unclear how much the changes ordered by Donato will cost Google.
Epic has lost its antitrust case against Apple, but Donato is considering whether Apple is making it easy enough for consumers to facilitate different ways for them to pay for digital transactions. ‘s ruling could still have ripple effects on the iPhone app store. Apple was ordered to allow in-app links to alternative payment systems as part of U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ ruling in the case, but Epic was ordered to allow in-app links to alternative payment systems, while Epic was ordered to allow in-app links to alternative payment systems. It was argued that this provision was undermined by its creation.
The upcoming Play Store shake-up could just be the first unwanted blow to Google from antitrust law. In the largest antitrust case in a quarter-century brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta declared in August that Google’s dominant search engine is also an illegal monopoly, and is now punishing the company. We are preparing to begin public hearings on how to do so. That bad act. Google is appealing Mehta’s ruling in the search engine case, hoping to avoid penalties that could hurt its business even more than the changes ordered in the Play Store.
“Google will almost certainly see a revenue hit even if the ruling goes through the appeals process,” said Evelyn Mitchell Wolf, an analyst at eMarketer. “Undoubtedly, some of the big app developers like Epic Games will start encroaching on the Google Play Store’s market share, meaning Google will lose its usual share of subscriptions and in-app purchases. Dew.”
The analyst added that while the Google Play Store has long been the default Android app store and will continue to benefit from brand recognition, “if you can get your favorite apps cheaper elsewhere… “There may be some consumers who leave,” he added. App developers will then use this opportunity to inform consumers directly about downloads.
“As a result, Google could see a decline in Play Store revenue even among Android users who stick to the defaults,” Mitchell-Wolf said.
Alphabet stock fell $4.08, or 2.4%, to close Monday at $162.98.
