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A judge has ordered Google to open Android to competing third-party app stores.
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The ruling is part of Epic Games' blockbuster antitrust case against Google.
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Google said it plans to appeal the ruling and ask the courts to suspend the implementation of legal remedies.
An American judge has ruled that Google must open Andriod to third-party app stores.
The ruling, handed down on Monday, was one of several legal remedies in the landmark antitrust case brought against Google by Epic Games, the company behind the video game Fortnite.
The solutions aim to give Android users more options to download apps and pay for transactions within them.
The judge ruled that Google cannot pay companies to launch apps exclusively on the Play Store, or pay companies to pre-install the company's app store on devices, for three years.
The judge also ruled that Google must give competing app stores access to Google Play apps and that it cannot force app makers to use Google Play Billing.
The measures will come into effect from November.
Shares of Google's parent company Alphabet fell 2.4% after the ruling.
In a statement posted online, Google said it has appealed the decision.
“The Epic ruling missed the obvious: Apple and Android are clearly competing. We will appeal and ask the courts to pause the implementation of the fixes to maintain a consistent and secure experience for users and developers as the legal process is progressing,” the company said.
“We will continue to advocate for what's best for developers, device makers, and the billions of Android users around the world.”
The measures follow a jury's finding last year that Google had violated antitrust policies in its Play Store for Android systems. The jury found that the tech giant had a monopoly on its Play Store for Android operating systems, limiting the reach of competitor apps and raising prices for processing in-app purchases.
Epic Games representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside of normal business hours.
Another antitrust blow for Google
Epic Games' ruling is the latest setback for Google as it faces other antitrust cases affecting different parts of its sprawling business.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google had violated antitrust laws to maintain its monopoly on search. Google predicted it could lose $30 billion if it lost its default spot on Apple devices. A judge is expected to outline possible solutions to that case this week.
In addition, the Justice Department is suing Google for its dominance in digital advertising. The ongoing lawsuit could lead to the breakup of the internet giant.
Last month, The European Supreme Court has upheld a €2.4 billion ($2.67 billion) claim antitrust fine against Google after ruling in 2017 that it used its search engine dominance to favor its own price comparison service over competitors.
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