A U.S. judge has ordered Google to allow rival app stores on its Android operating system, marking a significant legal setback for the tech giant.
This decision stems from an antitrust case initiated by Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, where a California jury ruled that Google maintains illegal monopoly power through its Play Store.
In December, the San Francisco jury swiftly concluded that Google employed various illegal strategies to uphold its app store monopoly on Android devices.
The latest order prohibits Google from engaging in practices deemed anticompetitive, including revenue sharing with potential competitors and mandating that developers launch apps exclusively on the Play Store.
For the next three years, these restrictions aim to level the playing field in the Android app ecosystem.
Google plans to appeal the ruling and is seeking to have the injunction set aside while the appeal is pending. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs, stated, “We look forward to continuing to make our case on appeal, and we will keep advocating for what is best for developers, device manufacturers, and the billions of Android users around the world.”
READ ALSO: Trump calls for prosecution of Google over search results he says favor Harris
The ruling is part of a broader scrutiny of Google’s business practices, following an earlier finding in August that its search engine also constitutes an illegal monopoly.
Additionally, Google faces another antitrust lawsuit in Virginia concerning its dominance in online advertising.
Smartphones running on Android account for about 70 percent of the global market, with manufacturers able to install the operating system at no cost, provided the Play Store is prominently featured.
The jury found that Google has worked to ensure that its Play Store remains the sole payment conduit for third-party apps, including popular games like Fortnite, which seek to bypass the hefty commissions charged by app stores.
This injunction could reshape the mobile app landscape, as it challenges Google’s long-standing control over app distribution and revenue generation in the Android ecosystem.