An appeals court has rejected Google's request to halt an order to open its Google Play Store, which the company filed in connection with its lawsuit with Epic Games.
Reuters reported on the 13th (local time) that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied Google's claim on 12th. The court ruled that the record Google submitted did not meet the standard required to stay the order.
The lawsuit dates back to 2020. Epic Games, the maker of the game "Fortnite," sued, saying Google monopolized app access and in-app payment methods on Android devices to suppress competition. In 2023, a San Francisco jury found that Google unlawfully restrained competition, and a federal court ordered Google last year to overhaul the Play Store.
The federal court said that for the next three years Google cannot block other payment methods within Android apps and must allow users to freely download rival app platforms or app stores. It also prohibited Google from inducing smartphone manufacturers to preinstall its app store preferentially by paying them monetary compensation, and from sharing Play Store revenue with other app distributors.
Google appealed the order but the appeals court in Jul. dismissed it, saying there was sufficient evidence that "Google's anti-competitive conduct strengthened its market dominance." In Aug., Google again asked to stay the order, arguing that the court's directive was "an unprecedented measure that would place Google and Apple under unequal conditions," but that request was also rejected. Google stressed that "if the jury verdict and court order stand, Google and Apple will have to follow different rules in the same court."
Epic Games also filed a similar lawsuit against Apple in 2020, but the court dismissed most of the claims and ordered only that Apple allow external payment systems. By contrast, Google faces a broader overhaul order.
Google called the ruling "disappointing" and said it is considering the possibility of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. It also argued that the court's measures could harm consumer security and privacy. By contrast, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney welcomed the ruling on the social network X (formerly Twitter), saying "both developers and consumers will soon benefit."