Supreme Showdown: Google vs. Epic in App Store Antitrust Battle

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to halt parts of a ruling requiring Google to make changes to its Play store amid Epic Games' antitrust lawsuit. A Federal Court's order demands app store reforms, affected from July 2026. Google plans a Supreme Court appeal on October 27.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to intervene in a crucial aspect of a legal battle involving Alphabet's Google and Epic Games. The ruling demands Google to make significant changes to its app store Play, responding to a lawsuit filed by Epic, the creator of 'Fortnite', over alleged monopolistic practices.

A federal appeals court upheld a previous injunction from U.S. District Judge James Donato, which instructs Google to allow the download of rival app stores and make its app catalog available to competitors by July 2026. The injunction also allows developers to include external payment links in apps, bypassing Google's billing system, set to be effective soon.

Epic's 2020 lawsuit claims Google's Play Store rules infringe antitrust laws. Despite denying these accusations, Google warns that these changes might lead to reputational harm and security risks. With repercussions for millions of users and developers, Google intends to appeal to the Supreme Court again by late October.

(With inputs from agencies.)