Google’s Legal Setback in App Store Dispute

On Thursday, Google found itself unable to sway the US Appeals Court into revising a ruling that ordered the tech giant to enhance competition on its App Store.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, dismissed Google’s assertion that there had been a legal error in a previous antitrust case, which stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Epic Games, the creators of “Fortnite,” in 2020. Epic accused Google of monopolizing access to apps on Android devices and managing in-app payment transactions.

Back in 2023, a judge in San Francisco sided with Epic, agreeing that Google’s practices had been unfairly competitive against the game developer.

In October, US District Judge James Donato mandated Google to better the competitive landscape by permitting users to access competing app stores through its Play Store and allowing those rivals to present their app catalogues to users.

This order was contingent upon the outcome of the 9th Circuit appeal. It’s worth noting that such decisions can be escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Google argued in the court that its Play Store was in competition with Apple’s App Store and claimed that the judge had improperly limited its ability to contest Epic’s allegations.

Furthermore, Google sought to block the proceedings against it, insisting it would not have been aware of Epic’s lawsuit had the judge not intervened, which is a decision usually made by a judge and wouldn’t typically lead to any financial penalties.

Epic, however, stood by the ruling and the injunction, asserting that the Android app market has been significantly hindered by anti-competitive practices for nearly a decade.

Disputes continued as Google contended that court-ordered reforms to app business practices could jeopardize user privacy and security.

In a show of solidarity, Microsoft, alongside the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, submitted a brief supporting Epic’s position.

Meanwhile, Epic is also engaged in a legal battle with Apple, challenging the iPhone maker’s requirements for developers to guarantee users more flexibility in making purchases outside of the App Store. Recently, Apple appealed a ruling stating that it violated a prior injunction related to Epic’s 2020 lawsuit.