US judge orders Google to open app store to competition

A US judge on Monday ordered Alphabet’s Google to overhaul its mobile app business to give Android users more options to download apps and to pay for transactions within them, following a jury verdict last year for “Fortnite” maker Epic Games. The injunction by US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco outlined the changes Google must undertake to open up its lucrative app store, Play, to greater competition, including making Android apps available from rival sources.

Donato’s order said that for three years Google cannot prohibit the use of in-app payment methods and must allow users to download competing third-party Android app platforms or stores. The order restricts Google from making payments to device makers to preinstall its app store and from sharing revenue generated from the Play store with other app distributors. Google in a statement said it will appeal the verdict that led to the injunction to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and will ask the US courts to pause Donato’s order pending appeal.