The court banned Google from bribing game developers for exclusive releases on Android

A US court recently issued a permanent injunction aimed at weakening Google’s control over Android and the Play Store, a result of Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit against Google. The court ordered Google to change its approach to alternative app stores, banning anti-competitive practices that privileged Google Play.

The decision by Judge James Donato of California restricts Google from paying out and sharing revenue in favor of companies that agreed not to use competing platforms. In particular, this concerns Google’s practice of entering into agreements with Android phone manufacturers and software developers so that they do not develop alternative app stores. Shares of Google parent Alphabet fell more than 2% after the news was announced.

The lawsuit filed by Epic Games alleges that Google uses its dominant market position to prevent competition, including by paying hardware manufacturers and software developers not to use third-party app stores. In December 2023, the court found Google’s actions illegal, establishing a connection between Google Play and Google Play Billing, and calling distribution agreements anti-competitive.

A new court ruling could change the Android app market in favor of independent developers. In particular, Google is now prohibited from:

• Pay for exclusive launch of apps on Google Play
• Pay to keep companies from competing with Google Play
• Pay by pre-installing Google Play on devices
• Require developers to use Google Play Billing for in-app payments
• Prohibit developers from informing users about cheaper offers on their sites

Also, Google should allow competing Android app stores to be placed on Google Play. Google and Epic Games will create a committee to resolve technical issues related to the execution of the court order.

The conflict took place over the in-game purchases offered by Epic Games in the Fortnite game. The company challenged the control of Google and Apple over the distribution of mobile applications. Her violation of the rules of two monopolists caused the removal of her applications and corresponding lawsuits.