Google says it has urged the United States Supreme Court to halt key parts of a judge’s order that would force major changes to its app store Play as it prepares to appeal a decision in a lawsuit brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games.
In a filing late on Wednesday, the company, which is owned by Alphabet, called the federal judge’s order unprecedented and said it would cause reputational harm and put the company at a competitive disadvantage if allowed to take effect.
Epic sued Google in 2020, accusing it of monopolising how consumers access apps on Android devices and pay for transactions within apps in violation of US antitrust law and won a jury trial in San Francisco in 2023.
The injunction issued in the case by US District Judge James Donato last year requires Google to allow users to download rival app stores within its Play store and make Play’s app catalogue available to competitors. It also compels Google to allow developers to include external links in apps, enabling users to bypass Google’s billing system.
Google said in its Supreme Court filing that the changes would have enormous consequences for more than 100 million US Android users and 500,000 developers. It asked the court to decide by October 17 whether to put the order on hold.
Google said it plans to file its appeal to the Supreme Court by October 27, which could allow the justices to take up the case during their next nine-month term, which begins on October 6.
Epic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The jury that sided with Epic in the trial found that Google illegally stifled competition. Donato subsequently issued the order directing Google to make changes to its app store.
Google has denied wrongdoing.
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