The most talented juggler in the world can’t keep up with how Google is juggling antitrust lawsuits. In late 2023, the company lost a lawsuit against Epic Games which labeled it a monopoly in the Android app space. Well, over a year later, Google still wants to appeal the Play Store lawsuit.
To catch you up, Epic Games has been extremely vocal about its distaste for the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Both Google and Apple have their own unique ways of screwing over the companies that launch apps to their stores. However, one thing they have in common is a ridiculous 30% fee for using their payment platforms.
So, Epic Games moved to sue both Apple and Google over their practices, but Apple was the only one able to emerge victorious. Google was ruled a monopoly and was ordered to make some changes.
When Epic sued Google, the company had a list of demands, and these were supposed to go into effect last November. However, Google has been pushing for more time. What did Epic want?
First of all, Google needs to allow developers to use other payment platforms. Second, Google needs to open up the Play Store to other app stores. Lastly, the company can’t make deals to have the Play Store pre-installed on Android devices.
They haven’t gone into effect just yet, but Google won’t be able to hold out forever. One reason Google gave for not bringing the changes is that it didn’t have the time to mitigate the dangers associated with opening up the Play Store to other app stores. We can’t deny that there could be risks.
Well, according to Reuters, Google still wants the court to overturn this ruling. This time, however, Google might have some ammunition. The company cited “legal errors” in the judge’s Judge James Donato’s, ruling. That’s a pretty bold claim.
According to Google, Epic Games framed its arguments as though Google and Apple are not competitors in the app and payment space. Also, Google pointed to the fact that the judge issued a nationwide injunction rather than one for just Epic Games.
As such, Google wants the court to throw out the ruling. It took the case to the Court of Appeals, and we won’t see the outcome of that ruling for several more months. The fight rages on.
