Google Play ‘Can Do Better’ on Faster Antitrust Fix, Judge Says

(Bloomberg) -- A California federal judge said he will order Alphabet Inc.’s Google to open up its app store in the coming weeks and chided the tech giant for not accepting a jury verdict that it monopolized Android app distribution and billing.

Jurors in December sided with the maker of the popular video game Fortnite and concluded that Google unlawfully abused its power over Android apps, which brought in $14.66 billion in revenue in 2020 for the tech company. US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco is now deciding what policy changes Google must make to comply with federal antitrust law. 

Donato said at a hearing Wednesday that he intends to issue a ruling in the coming weeks and is considering a remedy that would apply outside the US because the jury found anticompetitive practices occurred globally.

The judge scolded Google for balking at some of the remedies proposed by Epic Games Inc.

‘Build a Fence’

“When you build a fence to keep everyone out there is going to be a stampede when you finally open the gate,” Donato said. “You shouldn’t have built a fence in the first place.”

Google had estimated that it could take 12 to 16 months to implement the proposed changes, but Donato indicated he wants a faster timeline.

“It’s Google,” he said. “You can do better than that.”

Donato’s ruling will be the first in the US to attempt to correct Google’s dominance after years of European competition cases and fines totaling more than 8.25 billion euros ($9.1 billion). Hanging in the balance is billions of dollars in revenue for Google Play, which charges commissions of as much as 30% to software developers who typically ‘have few other options of platforms to market their apps.

Antitrust Scrutiny

In the December verdict, the jury found that Google, which has been under antitrust scrutiny for the last decade, engaged in illegal monopolization worldwide, excluding China. 

Last week, a judge in a different federal court ruled that Google has illegally monopolized online search and advertising markets. The Justice Department, which filed the search case along with a group of state attorneys general, is mulling whether to seek a breakup of the company in the wake of that decision, Bloomberg reported.

Epic had asked that some of the remedies, such as giving third-party app stores access to the millions of apps in the Google Play store, be in place for six years. Google countered that a year or two should be long enough for apps to gain traction on their own, after which Google should no longer be forced to “support its competitors.”

Donato indicated that his ruling will likely last at least three years. He also said he intends to appoint a three-member technical committee to oversee the company’s compliance with his order.

The judge repeatedly assured Google’s lawyers that he was not interested in micromanaging its business.

“I have no intention of having a highly detailed decree that ends up impairing competition,” Donato said.

Epic has also waged a long-running antitrust challenge to Apple Inc.’s app store.

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