(Bloomberg) — Alphabet Inc.’s Google won’t have to immediately revamp its Google Play store policies, after a federal judge in California temporarily paused his order that would have forced the technology giant to overhaul its app marketplace.
US District Judge James Donato on Friday granted the delay, but only until there is a ruling by the federal appeals court in San Francisco on Google’s separate request to put his Oct. 7 order on hold. Donato mandated the changes after a trial of antitrust claims by Epic Games Inc. A jury found Google abused its power in the Android app market.
“We’re pleased with the district court’s decision to temporarily pause the implementation of dangerous remedies demanded by Epic, as the court of appeal considers our request to further pause the remedies while we appeal,” a Google spokesperson said.
While granting a short-term delay, Donato denied Google’s request for a long-term stay on his order because he said the company failed to show it was “warranted, especially with respect to likelihood of success on the merits and the public interest.”
Epic Games, in a statement, said Donato’s temporary stay was just a “procedural step” that gives the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals time to rule. “Today the Court made it clear that Google’s appeal is meritless and rejected their request to delay opening up Android devices to competition while the appeal is ongoing,” the gamemaker said.
Donato’s order required Google Play to allow developers to set up app marketplaces and offer consumers billing options other than its own payment system. He set a Nov. 1 deadline to complete the changes — sooner than Google had said was possible.
On Oct. 11, Google sought a stay on Donato’s remedies. The one recommendation it didn’t object to was for the company to stop using payments, revenue sharing or access to its services to secure prominent placement for Google Play on mobile devices.
The Google Play business generated $14.66 billion in sales in 2020. Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Mandeep Singh has estimated that in a worst-case scenario, Google Play could face a $1.15 billion drag on Alphabet’s gross profit.
The case is In Re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, 21-md-02981, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
