Google urges Supreme Court to halt app store injunction in Epic Games suit

Epic accuses Google of illegally stifling contention connected Android devices successful a suit the gaming institution won successful 2023.

Google says it has urged the United States Supreme Court to halt cardinal parts of a judge’s bid that would unit large changes to its app store Play arsenic it prepares to entreaty a determination successful a suit brought by Fortnite shaper Epic Games.

In a filing precocious connected Wednesday, the company, which is owned by Alphabet, called the national judge’s bid unprecedented and said it would origin reputational harm and enactment the institution astatine a competitory disadvantage if allowed to instrumentality effect.

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Epic sued Google successful 2020, accusing it of monopolising however consumers entree apps connected Android devices and wage for transactions within apps successful usurpation of US antitrust instrumentality and won a assemblage proceedings successful San Francisco successful 2023.

The injunction issued successful the lawsuit by US District Judge James Donato past twelvemonth requires Google to let users to download rival app stores wrong its Play store and marque Play’s app catalogue disposable to competitors. It besides compels Google to let developers to see outer links successful apps, enabling users to bypass Google’s billing system.

Google said successful its Supreme Court filing that the changes would person tremendous consequences for much than 100 cardinal US Android users and 500,000 developers. It asked the tribunal to determine by October 17 whether to enactment the bid connected hold.

Google said it plans to record its entreaty to the Supreme Court by October 27, which could let the justices to instrumentality up the lawsuit during their adjacent nine-month term, which begins connected October 6.

Epic did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The assemblage that sided with Epic successful the proceedings recovered that Google illegally stifled competition. Donato subsequently issued the bid directing Google to marque changes to its app store.

Google has denied wrongdoing.

In July, a three-judge sheet of the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction, ruling that the grounds successful Epic’s suit was “replete with grounds that Google’s anticompetitive behaviour entrenched its dominance”.

The afloat 9th Circuit connected September 12 declined Google’s petition to reappraisal the panel’s decision.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, successful a station connected societal media, praised the 9th Circuit’s determination and said developers and consumers would soon payment from it.

Google faces different lawsuits from government, user and commercialized plaintiffs challenging its search and advertizing concern practices.

On Wall Street, Alphabet’s banal was trending downwards. As of 10:30am successful New York (14:30 GMT), the banal was down 0.75 percent.