The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has dismissed Google’s appeal against an antitrust verdict over its Play Store business practices.
The affirmation of the earlier jury verdict – that “Google had violated federal and state antitrust laws in the markets for Android app distribution and Android in-app billing services” – means some major changes could be inbound for the Google Play Store.
Tim Sweeney, boss of Epic Games, which has been fighting Google in court over the past few years, was unable to conceal his delight and posted on social media: “Total victory in the Epic v Google appeal!”
The three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals affirmed the previous order forbidding Google from engaging in business practices including prohibiting developers from directing users away from its payment services, a tactic used to bolster the company’s Play Store dominance.
Google has filed for an emergency administrative stay as it continues its appeals, but should that fail, seems that Google will have to open up Android while it continues to fight in court, paving the way for third parties to set up shop on the platform.
Google wrote in its request for the emergency stay,
“Absent an emergency administrative stay, Google must make immediate changes to Google Play, which will impact over 100 million U.S. users and more than 500,000 app developers.
Even if those changes are ultimately required — which Google strongly opposes and intends to challenge — requiring these changes to be imposed in only 14 days would expose users and developers to substantial risks and jeopardize the entire Android ecosystem.”
Epic mostly lost an antitrust battle with Apple in 2021, and Google hoped that the result of that case could be brought to bear on its legal tussle with the company.
The appeals panel disagreed, pointing out that the “commercial realities are different.”
“Apple’s ‘walled garden’ is, as the district court in Apple noted, markedly different from Google’s ‘open distribution’ … Google admits as much, noting that ‘Android’s open philosophy offers users and developers wider choices’ than iOS does, even as that openness ‘limit[s] Google’s ability to directly protect users from encountering malware and security threats when they download apps.'”
So, not the same thing at all.
Google Global Head of Regulatory Affairs said in a statement
“This decision will significantly harm user safety, limit choice, and undermine the innovation that has always been central to the Android ecosystem. Our top priority remains protecting our users, developers and partners, and maintaining a secure platform as we continue our appeal.”
As for Sweeney, he posted:
“Thanks to the verdict, the Epic Games Store for Android will be coming to the Google Play Store!”
