Epic Victory: Google Loses Appeal in Antitrust Battle

Google's attempt to overturn a federal court order to rework its Play Store has failed. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the order, siding with Epic Games in an antitrust case that accused Google of monopolizing Android app access. Epic's win marks a critical step in promoting competition.

Alphabet's Google faced a legal setback as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a jury verdict and federal court order, mandating the company to overhaul its Play Store. The ruling supports Epic Games' claim that Google has monopolized app access on Android devices.

In 2023, a San Francisco jury found that Google unfairly restricted competition, leading U.S. District Judge James Donato to mandate reforms. These include opening the Play Store to rival app stores and making its catalog available to competitors.

Despite the appeals court's decision, Google maintains that the ruling will harm user safety and limit choices. Nevertheless, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney hailed the decision as an opportunity for the Epic Games Store for Android to be accessible on Google Play.

(With inputs from agencies.)