A federal court jury has ruled that Google’s Android app store has been shielded from competition by anticompetitive hurdles, harming both software developers and smartphone users and upending a key tenet of a vast digital empire.
After a four-week trial that focused on a profitable payment system within Google’s Play Store, the unanimous decision was reached on Monday after barely three hours of deliberation. The store serves as the primary download and installation location for hundreds of millions of Android-powered smartphone users worldwide.
Three years ago, Epic Games, the company behind the well-known video game Fortnite, sued Google, claiming that the internet search engine giant had been misusing its authority to keep its Play Store free from rivals, thus safeguarding a billion-dollar profit margin. Google takes a commission on digital transactions made within apps, similar to what Apple does with its iPhone app store (15–30%).
Epic filed a similar lawsuit against the iPhone app store, but Apple won. However, the decision made by the federal judge during that trial in 2021 is being appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
Though legally Google permits Android apps to be downloaded from various shops, something Apple forbids on the iPhone, the nine-member jury in the Play Store case seemed to view things differently.
Google attempted to avoid having a jury decide the case just before the Play Store trial began, but U.S. District Judge James Donato denied the motion. Donato will now have the responsibility of deciding what actions Google must take to stop its unlawful activity in the Play Store. The court said he will hear arguments on the matter the second week of January.
Source (CNBC)
