Google certainly wants to avoid enforcing the US court order which aims to increase competition for the distribution of Android apps and related payment processes. The company has not only announced the appeal but has also requested that the court order be suspended until the appeal is decided. The responsible federal district court is due to decide on this urgent application on Friday. But Google does not want to let this happen.
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At the same time, the data company has submitted an urgent application to the higher federal appeals court for the Ninth Circuit. If the federal district court doesn’t rule in Google’s favor, perhaps an appeals court will. Google claims that it is likely to win the appeal and that implementing the first instance court order would cause irreparable harm. This is a legal requirement for suspension of the order. Reprogramming the Play Store will surely cost millions by the end of the month. Furthermore, the suspension is in the public interest.
According to the order, from November Google will no longer be able to force app operators to use the Play Store’s expensive payment process in business transactions with US customers. Additionally, application providers should be allowed to tell their customers where the application can be obtained outside the Play Store or how to pay fees without using the Play Store.
Additionally, within eight months, Google must enable competing app stores to be installed through Google Play and allow competitors to copy apps from Google Play to distribute them themselves. (Google says it needs double the time.) In return, Google should charge a reasonable fee. However, the company is not allowed to offer any financial incentives to app operators to distribute their applications exclusively through Google Play or to manufacturers to distribute devices with Google Play pre-installed. And if third parties don’t do these things, Google is not allowed to stop their services.
iPad 10: cheap, but without power supplyDoesn’t anyone think about security?
According to Google, irreparable harm does not include only the fact that the implementation of the requirement costs money and that competitors would benefit from it. Google also fears damage to its brand and reputation.
Above all, the company has a responsibility for security. Time pressure makes secure implementation impossible, with even Google citing Microsoft’s CloudStrike debacle in July this year as a scary example of how to program software faster and faster. External payment service providers will collect highly sensitive data from users, which is obviously bad unless Google does the same.
Rich in Play’s treasure trove of apps, malicious alternative app stores can distribute misleading, harmful, or illegally copied apps to the public. If such app stores were to be listed in Play, it would give them an air of legitimacy. Users will become confused and possibly install fake versions of the apps they were looking for. To make matters worse, they may be exposed to unwanted content like pornography or hate speech and become victims of data trafficking on the dark web. App operators will also be overwhelmed as they have to determine which stores they do not want to see their apps in.
EPIC “SCAREER” WATCHES
Game provider Epic filed the original competition lawsuit against Google and won a judgment. Not surprisingly, Epic doesn’t think much of Google’s claims. An Epic spokesperson said, “The jury’s verdict and the court’s order were clear: Google’s anti-competitive business practices with the Play Store are illegal.”
process is called Google Play Store in antitrust litigation again and in the United States District Court for Northern California, Docket No. 3:21-MD-02981. The immediate application to the Ninth US Circuit relates to partial proceedings Epic Games vs Google et alReference 24-6256.
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Google’s urgent application to the appeal court
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iPad 10: cheap, but without power supply
