Google asks the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider an order requiring the company to allow rivals access to its Play Store. Following the verdict of a federal jury, Google faced legal action from Epic Games after it was found to have maintained an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app payment services for Android devices. This month, US District Judge James Donato granted permission for third-party app stores to enter the Google Play app catalog, making them accessible for download from the store’s storefront. Google is requesting the court’s intervention in blocking an order related to the Epic Games antitrust lawsuit, arguing that this decision will put approximately 100 million Android users in the US at risk of “substantial new security vulnerabilities.”
The corporation deemed the order “dangerous and unwarranted”, warning that allowing it could jeopardize its ability to “present a protected and trusted source of expertise.” It contended that if it permits third-party app stores to be available for download from Google Play, consumers might mistakenly assume the company is endorsing them, posing “real dangers” to its customers.
Giving third-party shops access to the Play catalog could potentially harm companies whose products are exposed to inappropriate or malicious content alongside theirs, which may damage their brand reputation and erode customer trust. Giving third-party shops unfettered access to its entire library might lend credibility to malicious operations, potentially creating a veneer of legitimacy that could deceive users. Moreover, allowing builders to insert external hyperlinks within their apps poses a significant threat of misleading links, as nefarious actors may exploit this feature for phishing attacks, putting customers’ devices and sensitive information at risk.
Among the proposed changes to the courtroom’s guidelines is the option for developers to remove Google Play billing as a possibility, allowing them to offer their apps to Android users without incurring a fee from the corporation. Notwithstanding, Google noted that allowing developers to remove its billing system could “drive an opportunity that would not have the safeguards and features that users expect.”
Google underscored that the three-week timeframe granted by the court to implement these far-reaching changes poses an “insurmountable challenge,” likening it to a “Herculean task.” It warned that this expedited process creates an “unacceptable risk of security vulnerabilities” that would have significant implications for the performance of customers’ Android devices. The corporation also queried why the court of law decided in favor of Epic in its antitrust lawsuit, while they had taken a similar stance in another case filed by the same online gaming company. “It’s astonishing that Apple, which demands all apps conform to its exclusive App Store guidelines, doesn’t warrant monopoly accusations, whereas Google, having embedded flexibility into the Android operating system, allowing manufacturers to preinstall and users to access alternative app stores, is criticized for anticompetitive behavior.”
