 (3).png)
8 months ago
13
ARTICLE AD BOX
Google has lost its appeal at the Nith Circuit of Appeals court against a jury verdict and federal court order from last year that required the compay to revamp its Play Store policies. The tech giant has been in a legal dispute with Fortnite maker Epic Games for years but the new ruling means that it will finally be able to offer its own app store directly within the Google Play Store.
Judge Margaret McKeown while siding with the federal court's ruling stated, “It is well established that antitrust remedies can and often must proscribe otherwise lawful conduct to unwind and further prevent violators’ anticompetitive activity,”
“The district court had within its basket of remedial powers the authority to require Google to deal with parties harmed by its anticompetitive conduct, including its competitors.” she added
A jury in December 2023 ruled in favour of Epic's claims that Alphabet set restrictive Google Play policies and engaged in anti-competitive behaviour by paying smartphone makers and popular app developers to exclusively use its app store. After the verdict, US District Judge James Donato ruled in October last year that Google has restore competition by alowing rival app stores within its Play Store and provide other ways for paying for apps on Android along with other reforms.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney while reacting to the verdict wrote in a post on X, “Total victory in the Epic v Google appeal!”
“Thanks to the verdict, the Epic Games Store for Android will be coming to the Google Play Store! It's already available worldwide from our web site” Sweeney added.
Meanwhile, Google in a statement to The Verge said the decision by appeals court will “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”
English (US) ·