Fortnite maker Epic Games has recently urged a federal judge in California to force Google to open up its Play store for other players to compete after a jury discovered the tech giant had abused its power as a gatekeeper for apps on the Android platform. Epic in a court filing to US District Judge James Donato primarily asked Google Play store to allow the distribution of competing third-party app stores for six years and at the same time, also limit the its ability to make agreements with device makers to restrict preloading of competing app stores.
Donato takes over a much-talked about antitrust trial that ended in December with a jury verdict against Google. He is not bound to grant Epic's proposal. A tough fight between the two giants is likely to happen before any permanent order on Google is issued. However, this latest filing sets up the next challenge for Google to be able to impose controls on app developers and consumers.
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Google Vs Epic Games
The jury in December observed that Google obstruct developers’ ability to freely distribute their apps outside of Google’s Play store. The jury added that the tech giant kept an overly tight grip on payments for in-app transactions. Google on the other hand has always defended its app store practices and denied its indulgence in any wrongdoing.
Separately, Google has agreed to pay $700 million to resolve state and consumer allegations over its alleged Play store restrictions. The company that it was piloting "choice billing" in the US for over an year.
Google has previously said that it will appeal the December antitrust jury verdict, and on another note, it can also challenge any reforms ordered by Donato. However, this would stretch the case for years.
Now, Google has a deadline till May 3 to respond to Epic's latest proposal. Notably, Epic’s lawsuit did not demand monetary damages.