Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has 14 days to enact the Play Store changes needed to resolve its antitrust issues.
- The tech giant has now filed an emergency stay with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
- The company believes that making these changes in such a short amount of time will put users and developers at risk.
On Thursday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling from the original Epic v. Google lawsuit, giving Epic Games the big win it was looking for. As a result, Google must enact a list of remedies to resolve its antitrust issues. The tech giant is now hoping the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will grant it an emergency stay.
According to The Verge, Google has revealed that it has only 14 days to enact the significant changes it was ordered to make to the Play Store. The quick turnaround has led the tech giant to file an emergency stay with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to put a pause on the situation.
The list of remedies that will need to be enacted in 14 days includes:
- Allowing app developers to use non-Google payment methods
- Allowing developers to tell users about other ways to pay from within the Play Store
- Letting developers share links with users that allow their apps to be downloaded outside of the Play Store
- Letting developers set their own prices
- No more paying phone makers, carriers, and developers for Play Store exclusivity or preinstallation
- Working with Epic to resolve any disputes as Google builds a system to let rival app stores in
Eventually, Google will also have to allow rival app stores on the Play Store or give these rivals access to its full app catalog. However, Google won’t be forced to do that quite yet. As the outlet points out, Google still has seven and a half months before it has to follow through on this requirement. So, although Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said the Epic Games Store is coming to the Play Store, that won’t happen until at least next year.
In the stay request, Google argues that this qualifies as an emergency because making these changes will significantly impact millions of users, hundreds of thousands of developers, and its own company. It also claims that enacting such changes in a short span of time will expose users and developers to substantial risks, as well as jeopardize the Android ecosystem.
Whether the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals grants Google’s request for a stay remains to be seen. But considering Google was denied an earlier request for a stay, it seems unlikely. It’s expected that Google will try to appeal to the Supreme Court.
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