Judge Orders Google to Open Android to Third-Party App Stores

Google says it’ll appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Now, third-party app store installations must be allowed within the Google Play Store.

Google linked to Mulholland’s press release when asked for comment.

Both stores require a 30% royalty to be paid for all app purchases.

Epic Games attempted to circumvent that fee in 2020 by launching Fortnite with an outside payment option.

Doing so prompted both Apple and Google to ban Fortnite, which triggered the lawsuit by Epic.

Epic argued that each company was operating an illegal monopoly with its app stores as such restrictive payment controls.

These same types of payment restrictions aren’t maintained on other online devices, like MacBooks and PCs.

The Supreme Court declined to hear Epic Games' appeal in the Apple lawsuit.

It’s uncertain if the Supreme Court will take on Google’s appeal.