In these days Google It is facing what can well be defined as one of the most annoying headaches of recent times: after the legal victory of Epic Gamesin fact, the Mountain View company received an ultimatum from the court and Within two weeks it will have to implement a series of important changes to its Play Store To resolve the antitrust issues that saw her succumb to court.
The Court of Appeal has in fact confirmed the original judgment of the case Epic against Googlemarking A decisive victory for the Fortnite manufacturer, With a decision that constitutes a turning point in the panorama of mobile apps, and with potential repercussions that will also extend beyond national borders.
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What are the changes that Google must make to the Play Store
THE’List of changes imposed by the American court It is far from mild and poor entity. For example, Google will have to allow developers to use alternative payment methods to those of their system, with a change that could significantly reduce the revenues of the company deriving from the commissions on transactions.
Furthermore, Developers can finally inform users directly of the existence of alternative payment methods directly within the Play Store, with a very wide freedom that had been denied by the restrictive policies of the platform to date.
Among the most significant changes we also mention The possibility for developers to share links who allow users to download their applications outside the Play Store: thus we actually break the Google distribution monopoly. Developers will also be able to independently establish the prices of their apps without the currently imposed limitations.
Google tried to earn time
Faced with this unprecedented situation, Google tried to earn time by presenting an emergency suspension request at the Court of Appeal. The company claims that implementing these changes in such a small period of time constitutes an emergency that could compromise the safety of millions of users and hundreds of thousands of developers.
According to Google’s position, These important changes could in fact expose the entire Android system to substantial risks if implemented hastily. The company has therefore clearly affirmed how a transformation of this scope requires longer times to guarantee the stability and safety of the platform.
An uncertain future for the Play Store
In any case, despite the urgency of the first changes, some transformations will only request more dilated times. Google will in fact have seven and a half months to allow rival apps to access the Play Store or have access to the complete catalog of available applications.
In short, despite the declarations of the Epic Tim Sweeney CEO on the arrival of the EPIC Games Store on the Play Store, The integration will not take place before next year. The additional time should also allow Google to develop a system that allows the integration of competing stores without compromising the safety of the platform.
What will happen now: appeals predictable by Google
Let’s say immediately that the possibilities that the Court of Appeal grants the suspension required by Google appear limited. Considering that a previous suspension request had already been rejected, experts consider a change of course unlikely to the judges.
However, Google does not seem willing to surrender easily And it is certainly not devoid of defense and counterattack weapons: it is therefore possible that the company will have the appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, with a move that would constitute a sort of last beach to overturn a decision that could redefine the mobile applications market, not only in the United States but also, potentially, globally.
