Unfair competition: People taking a photo at a telecom conference in Barcelona, Spain. Under fire from regulators around the world, Google Play rules and fees stifle competition and block app marketplaces launched by developers, Epic argues. — AFP
SAN FRANCISCO: Alphabet Inc must lift restrictions that prevent developers from setting up rival marketplaces that compete with its Google Play Store, a judge ruled, upending the search giant’s dominance in the lucrative Android app market.
A federal judge in San Francisco on Monday handed a big victory to Epic Games Inc in its long-running antitrust challenge to the technology giant’s app store, which brought in US$14.66bil in sales in 2020.
The ruling comes after the maker of the popular video game Fortnite convinced a jury that Google abused its power in the Android app market with its Google Play store policies.
Alphabet shares fell as much as 2.5% to US$162.96 in New York. They had been up 20% this year through the end of last week.
“The Epic verdict missed the obvious: Apple and Android clearly compete,” Google said in a blog post. “We will appeal and ask the courts to pause implementing the remedies to maintain a consistent and safe experience for users and developers as the legal process moves forward.”
The ruling is the latest antitrust blow to Google, which in August lost a trial over claims by the US Justice Department that the company illegally monopolises online search and advertising markets.
The department is expected to detail its proposal to alleviate the harm resulting from that misconduct – even as the agency is still sparring with Google in yet another case over the company’s alleged dominance over the technology used to buy and sell online ads.
Closing arguments in that fight will be held in November with a decision expected by the end of the year.
In a case that started in 2020, Epic argued that Google Play rules and fees stifled competition and blocked app marketplaces launched by developers.
The judge’s decision is likely to accelerate the weakening of app store controls held by tech giants Google and Apple Inc that have been under fire from regulators and lawmakers around the world.
US District Judge James Donato issued an injunction that took effect Nov 1, which bars Google for three years from paying developers to exclusively use its app store or prohibit them from telling customers about how to directly download apps.
Google also cannot force developers to use its billing features during that time.
The company must also let rival app stores have access to its catalogue for the next three years in a bid to help them develop.
Donato had warned he would be tough on Google after jurors found in December that the company had engaged in anticompetitive conduct and harmed Epic.
“The question at hand is not whether Google violated the antitrust laws by failing to aid rivals, but what measures are necessary to restore fair competition in the face of the barriers found by the jury,” he wrote.
“Requiring Google to allow other app stores to be distributed through the Play Store for a discrete period is a modest step to correct the consequence of unlawfully preventing rival stores from reaching users and developers,” Donato said.
Google contended that its partnerships help phones that run on Android better compete against Apple’s iPhone.
The judge said that Google can take “reasonable measures” to ensure the security of its platform, and ordered the parties to recommend three people for a committee to review the technical aspects of those requirements.
Developers who find that Google’s security measures are too stringent can challenge them, with the tech giant responsible for proving they are necessary.
Donato said he limited the injunction to three years because “the provisions are designed to level the playing field for the entry and growth of rivals, without burdening Google excessively.”
Google had told the judge it would take 12 to 16 months to add third-party apps to the Play Store, but Donato set a deadline of eight months.
Representatives of Epic didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Epic had mixed success with a similar antitrust challenge to Apple’s app store.
A judge in Oakland, California, concluded in 2021 that the app store didn’t violate federal monopoly laws. But the judge sided with Epic on an unfair competition claim under California law and directed the iPhone maker to let developers steer customers to their websites for online transactions. — Bloomberg
