Changes to the Google Play Store are going to be forced upon Google according to U.S. District Judge James Donato. During a three-hour hearing last week in San Francisco, the judge warned the Alphabet unit that he is considering an order that would force Google to make changes to its Android app storefront. One such change would force Google to give Android users the opportunity to install alternative Android app stores.Any orders made by the judge would be considered Google’s punishment after a federal jury back in December returned a verdict stating that Google violated antitrust law with the Google Play Store. Google said at the time that it would appeal the ruling. Even though Android users are allowed to sideload apps from a third-party app store, the vast majority of apps installed on Android phones are sourced from the Play Store.
Besides calling Google a monopoly for how it distributes apps to Android users, the billing platform was also mentioned by the judge as being problematic since, like Apple’s in-app payment platform for the App Store (outside of Europe), it has generated billions of dollars in revenue for Google. It also has made it difficult for developers to direct consumers to alternative payment platforms.
Google’s response has been to bring up the possibility of Android users installing apps from third-party app stores containing malware which it says would lead to a “security chaos.” This is similar to Apple’s reasoning for wanting to keep the “walled garden” for the App Store. Both companies say that without the ability to scan apps in third-party app stores, there is a greater chance of malware being introdujced inside iPhone and Android phones.
The judge made it clear that he wants Google to make big changes to the Play Store even if it costs Google the $600 million that the Alphabet unit estimated. Donato hopes to have the framework of the changes he wants the Play Store to make to be released possibly by the Labor Day weekend. Google wants the judge to give it 12 to 16 months to put any changes in place.
“Google is telling me it will take eons for all of this to happen, but I am skeptical about it. I am dubious that all that brainpower can’t solve these problems in less than 16 months.”-U.S. District Judge James Donato
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