Google must allow third-party stores on Google Play as judge issues final Epic v Google ruling

Epic Games wins big in its antitrust case against Google, with Judge Donato ruling that Google must allow competing third-party app storefronts within the Google Play Store for the next 3 years.

3

Google has officially been ordered by United States District Judge James Donato to break open Android's ultra-lucrative Google Play Store and allow competing storefronts on the service.

Today, Judge Donato issued his final ruling in the Epic v Google antitrust case with a permanent injunction. Documents retrieved from PACER reveal that the terms of the injunction are to start on November 1, 2024.

The injunction will last over the next 3 years, until November 2027.

1. Google may not share revenue generated by the Google Play Store with any person or entity that distributes Android apps, or has stated that it will launch or is considering launching an Android app distribution platform or store.
2. Google may not condition a payment, revenue share, or access to any Google product or service, on an agreement by an app developer to launch an app first or exclusively in the Google Play Store.
3. Google may not condition a payment, revenue share, or access to any Google product or service, on an agreement by an app developer not to launch on a third-party Android app distribution platform or store a version of an app that includes features not available in, or is otherwise different from, the version of the app offered on the Google Play Store.
4. Google may not condition a payment, revenue share, or access to any Google product or service, on an agreement with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or carrier to preinstall the Google Play Store on any specific location on an Android device.
5. Google may not condition a payment, revenue share, or access to any Google product or service, on an agreement with an OEM or carrier not to preinstall an Android app distribution platform or store other than the Google Play Store.
6. Google may not require the use of Google Play Billing in apps distributed on the Google Play Store, or prohibit the use of in-app payment methods other than Google Play Billing. Google may not prohibit a developer from communicating with users about the availability of a payment method other than Google Play Billing. Google may not require a developer to set a price based on whether Google Play Billing is used.
7. Google may not prohibit a developer from communicating with users about the availability of pricing of an app outside of the Google Play Store, and may not prohibit a developer from providing a link to download the app outside the Google Play Store
8. Google will permit third-party Android app stores to access the Google Play Store's catalog of apps so that they may offer the Play Store apps to users. For apps available only in the Google Play store (i.e. that are not independently available through the third-party Android app store), Google will permit users to complete the download of the app through the Google Play Store. Google may keep all revenues associated with such downloads. Google will provide developers with a mechanism for opting out of inclusion in catalog access for any particular third-party Android app store. Google will have up to eight months from the date of this order to implement the technology necessary to comply with this provision, and the three-year time period will start once the technology is fully functional.
9. 9. Google may not prohibit the distribution of third-party Android app distribution platforms or stores through the Google Play Store. Google is entitled to take reasonable measures to ensure that the platform or stores, and the apps they offer, are safe from a computer systems and security standpoint, and do not offer illegal goods or services under federal or state law within the United States, or violate Google's content standards. The review measures must be comparable to the measures Google is currently taking for apps proposed to be listed in the Google Play Store. If challenged, Google will bear the burden of proving that its technical and content requirements and determinations are strictly necessary and narrowly tailored. Google may require app developers and app store owners to pay a reasonable fee for these services, which must be based on Google's actual costs. Google will have up to eight months from the date of this order to implement the technology and procedures are fully functional.