The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to halt parts of the order requiring Google to make changes on its app store as it prepares to appeal a decision in a lawsuit brought by “Fortnite”-maker Epic Games.
The Alphabet-owned company had sought to pause orders from the Northern District Court of California that required it to open its app ecosystem to rivals, stop restricting third-party downloads, and allow developers to steer users toward cheaper payment options outside Google’s billing system. This means that Android users would be able to access apps from developers outside Play Store at the price points the developers choose.
“Android provides more choice for users and developers than any mobile OS, and the changes ordered by the US District Court will jeopardize users’ ability to safely download apps,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider. “While we’re disappointed the order isn’t stayed, we will continue our appeal.”
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Epic Games had sued Google in 2020, alleging that the company was running an illegal monopoly over its Android app download restrictions and in-app payments. In 2023, a California judge ruled in favor of Epic Games, finding that policies for Play Store violated antitrust laws. U.S. District Judge James Donato then ordered Google to open Android to competing app stores and allow developers to use their own billing systems for a period of three years.
Epic has said Google is relying on what it called “flawed security claims” to justify its control over Android devices. Epic had urged the justices to allow Donato’s injunction to take effect “so consumers and developers can benefit from competition, choices and lower prices.”
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In July, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that verdict. Google filed a stay in July requesting that the ordered remedies be put on hold while the company works on filing a full appeal with the Supreme Court by Oct. 27.
Apple and its App Store faced a similar lawsuit from Epic, which resulted in similar remedies. The company also lost its latest appeal to pause these remedies in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Some of the remedies, like allowing links to external payments, have already been implemented.
Google also previously faced two antitrust lawsuits from the Department of Justice (DOJ), which challenged its dominance in search and digital advertising. The court proposed remedies while rejecting calls to break up Google or require divestitures of Chrome or Android, and declined to mandate a “choice screen” for users selecting a default search engine.