Oct. 9 – Over the course of two days this week, Alphabet Inc.’s Google received a court order to open its Play app store to rivals, and the U.S. Department of Justice will soon ask a judge to restrict its holdings. I learned that I may be asked to split up the company. than an online search. Here’s a look at the U.S. antitrust cases that Google is defending and that could help shape the company’s future.
U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco on Monday ordered Google to overhaul parts of its Android app business, a big change for consumers, developers and mobile device makers. Under the order, Google will have three years starting in November to allow Android users to download competing app platforms and use competing in-app payment methods, and will charge pre-installation fees from the app store Play to devices. You can’t pay the manufacturer.
The order was issued in a 2020 lawsuit brought by Fortnite video game maker Epic Games, which accused Google of monopolizing the distribution and payment of Android apps. Google said it would appeal the jury verdict underlying the case and challenge any changes to the court order. In a related Play lawsuit, Google said it would pay $700 million to resolve claims from consumers and U.S. states that it charged inflated prices for apps. The settlement is pending before Mr. Donato, who questions whether the amount is enough. Separately, Epic filed a new lawsuit last month accusing Google of illegally colluding with device maker Samsung to protect Play from competition. Samsung and Google denied the claims.
Online Search Google’s dominance in online search is the centerpiece of a 2020 lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in federal court in Washington. In that case, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that Google had paid billions of dollars to establish an illegal monopoly. Compete to make it the world’s default search engine. The Justice Department said Tuesday it may ask a judge to order Google to break up parts of the company to correct its antitrust violations. The government’s concrete proposals, including the possibility of forcing Google to sell its Chrome browser and Android operating system, are expected to be announced in November. Google plans to propose its own remedies in late December, and the justices are scheduled to hear arguments in April 2025.
Digital Advertising Beyond search and apps, Google faces three lawsuits challenging its dominance in the online display advertising market. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia last month held a nonjury trial in a lawsuit filed last year by the Justice Department and a group of states. Google is accused of illegally controlling every aspect of the advertising market, forcing customers to use its products and using its size to crush rivals. Closing arguments are scheduled for late November.
Google is also fighting two related lawsuits in federal courts in Texas and New York. Texas is leading a group of states suing Google over digital advertising in a case scheduled for trial in March 2025. Publishers and advertisers are pursuing related claims challenging Google’s advertising technology practices, alleging they were overcharged and lost revenue.
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