Epic accuses Google of illegally stifling competitors on Android units in a lawsuit the gaming firm received in 2023.
Printed On 25 Sep 2025
Google says it has urged the USA Supreme Court docket to halt key components of a choose’s order that may drive main adjustments to its app retailer Play because it prepares to attraction a choice in a lawsuit introduced by Fortnite maker Epic Video games.
In a submitting late on Wednesday, the corporate, which is owned by Alphabet, known as the federal choose’s order unprecedented and mentioned it could trigger reputational hurt and put the corporate at a aggressive drawback if allowed to take impact.
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Epic sued Google in 2020, accusing it of monopolising how shoppers entry apps on Android units and pay for transactions inside apps in violation of US antitrust regulation and received a jury trial in San Francisco in 2023.
The injunction issued within the case by US District Decide James Donato final 12 months requires Google to permit customers to obtain rival app shops inside its Play retailer and make Play’s app catalogue out there to rivals. It additionally compels Google to permit builders to incorporate exterior hyperlinks in apps, enabling customers to bypass Google’s billing system.
Google mentioned in its Supreme Court docket submitting that the adjustments would have huge penalties for greater than 100 million US Android customers and 500,000 builders. It requested the court docket to resolve by October 17 whether or not to place the order on maintain.
Google mentioned it plans to file its attraction to the Supreme Court docket by October 27, which may permit the justices to take up the case throughout their subsequent nine-month time period, which begins on October 6.
Epic didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The jury that sided with Epic within the trial discovered that Google illegally stifled competitors. Donato subsequently issued the order directing Google to make adjustments to its app retailer.
Google has denied wrongdoing.
In July, a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based ninth US Circuit Court docket of Appeals upheld the injunction, ruling that the file in Epic’s lawsuit was “replete with proof that Google’s anticompetitive conduct entrenched its dominance”.
The complete ninth Circuit on September 12 declined Google’s request to overview the panel’s determination.
Epic Video games CEO Tim Sweeney, in a put up on social media, praised the ninth Circuit’s determination and mentioned builders and shoppers would quickly profit from it.
Google faces different lawsuits from authorities, client and industrial plaintiffs difficult its search and promoting enterprise practices.
On Wall Avenue, Alphabet’s inventory was trending downwards. As of 10:30am in New York (14:30 GMT), the inventory was down 0.75 p.c.
