A US judge is forcing Google to open up the Google Play Store to competition, allowing the creation of other app marketplaces and payment systems.
With this ruling, Judge James Donato vindicates Epic Games in its battle against Google, which began in 2020. The Fortnite maker accused Google of anti-competitive practices and exploiting its dominant position in the app market. Epic had also accused Google of paying hardware companies and Android not to develop competing app stores.
What should Google do under the judge's new order?
Under the new order, Google can no longer enter into revenue-sharing agreements with phone makers to pre-install the Play Store prominently on their home screens. It also can't pay them not to pre-install a competing app store.
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At the same time, it is prohibited from paying companies not to compete with the Google Play Store, is prohibited from charging developers to “launch an app first or exclusively” on the Play Store , and can no longer force customers to use its internal billing system, which imposes fees of up to 30%.
This decision could help developers gain more market share. The new restrictions on Google Play may allow developers to keep more revenue by circumventing Google's rules or fees.
App developers will not be required to use Google Play Billing and will be able to inform their users about cheaper online products on their website.
The judge also said that Google must allow competing app stores to access the Google Play app catalog. Finally, third-party Android app stores will be moved to its own app store.
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Epic Games and Google will also form a three-member committee, which will review technical issues related to Google's compliance.
All of the above should be implemented from November 1stand will be valid for the next three years.
This decision is a major blow to Google's dominance in the mobile app market. The Google Play store was the primary source of app for Android users. With the above rulings, competitors can now enter the market and offer their own app stores, giving developers more choice and potentially leading to better terms for them.
However, it remains to be seen whether these changes will have a significant impact on the app market. It may take some time for alternative app to gain traction with Android users who are accustomed to using the Google Play store. Additionally, developers may choose to stay with the Google Play store, as it has a larger user base and offers more security and support for their apps.
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However, the decision reflects growing concerns about the monopoly power of big tech and their control over various aspects of the digital marketplace. The decision could lead to further scrutiny of Google's business practices, which could lead to more legal challenges in the future.
Google, for its part, said it would appeal and asked that the changes not be implemented, arguing that they would jeopardize the privacy and security of customer data.
Source: www.cnbc.com
