US judge orders Google to open app store to competitors

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US judge orders

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to open app store to competitors

A US federal judge has ruled that

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must allow Android apps made by rival technology firms onto its

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Play app store for three years starting next month.

The change was among several remedies ordered by Judge James Donato in a case brought against

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by Epic Games, the maker of the hit video game Fortnite.

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says it will appeal against the decision and ask for a pause to the proposed remedies.

In December, a jury sided with Epic, which says

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stifled competitors by controlling the distribution of apps and payments on Android phones.

“The changes would put consumers’ privacy and security at risk, make it ******* for developers to promote their apps, and reduce competition on devices,”

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said in a statement.

Some legal experts have hailed the ruling as a meaningful challenge to the dominance of a handful of technology giants.

“It shows that courts are not necessarily opposed to asking dominant platforms to share access with rivals in the name of competition,” said Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School.

Among other remedies, the ruling called for

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to make its catalogue of apps available to competing app stores.

“That isn’t something antitrust law would normally require,” said Mark Lemley, professor at Stanford Law School. “But the judge correctly noted that once you have violated the antitrust laws, courts can order you to do affirmative things to undo the harm you caused, even though you didn’t have the obligation to do those things in the first place.”

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had argued that its Play app store operates in a competitive landscape, citing competition with iPhone-maker Apple, which was also sued by Epic Games in 2020.

That case ended with an appeals court ruling that Apple does not have a monopoly in mobile games.

Monday’s order is the latest legal ***** suffered by

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in recent years on competition grounds.

In August, US District Judge Amit Mehta sided with the US Department of Justice, which accused the company of operating an ******** monopoly in online search.

Last month, District Judge Leonie Brinkema finished hearing arguments over similar government allegations that

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dominates the advertising technology market.

The company’s critics say

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’s fees of up to 30% on every payment made on its app store has meant higher prices for consumers.

“That is a rate they were able to charge because they were a monopoly,” said Lee Hepner, Senior Legal Counsel at the ********* Economic Liberties Project.

Mr Hepner said that the ruling is likely change that.

“There’s going to be a lot more incentive for developers to enter this market, and prices should be lower for consumers,” he said.

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#judge #orders #

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#open #app #store #competitors

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