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Google seeks reversal of verdict forcing it to open the Play Store to third-party app stores

If you've been following the news for the past few years, you'd know that Google and Fortnite maker Epic Games have been in a prolonged legal battle over the Mountain View giant's app store policies.

Quick recap: This all started back in 2020 when Epic Games introduced a direct payment system in Fortnite to bypass Google's 30% commission on in-app purchases.

This was a violation of Google's Play Store policies, and it ultimately led to the removal of Fortnite from the Play Store and Apple's App Store because it also broke Apple's payment policies.

Epic Games did not take this lying down and launched an antitrust lawsuit against Google, accusing it of anticompetitive behavior. Since then, there has been a web of lawsuits against companies like Apple and even Samsung.

In 2023, a San Francisco jury ruled in favor of Epic Games, arguing that Epic Games had proven by "preponderance of the evidence ...that Google willfully acquired and maintained monopoly power by engaging in anticompetitive conduct." This was a significant verdict, which meant that Google must open the Play Store to third-party app stores.

Now, in a new development, Reuters reports that Google is trying to get the court to overturn the app store verdict when Epic Games and Google get to the U.S. appeals court in California today.

Google's argument is basically that Judge James Donato, who ordered the company to open up its stores to competitors, as well as allow in-app payment methods, was wrong for doing so and that he was acting as "a central planner responsible for product design."

Epic Games wants the court to throw Google's arguments out the window, reiterating that Google has long suppressed competition among app stores and payment solutions, saying in a statement that it would "fight to ensure the jury's verdict" as well as make sure that Google is held accountable for its "anticompetitive behavior."

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