US Supreme Court denies Google’s appeal against opening up the Play Store

Back in August, Epic Games scored a big court win when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Google’s appeal to its 2023 and 2024 rulings. This turn of events left the search giant only one option as it appealed to the US Supreme Court and the verdict is now out – the court denied Google’s appeal.

US Supreme Court full verdict

This means that Google must now follow all the previously set goals of making the Play Store and app payment procedures friendlier to competition, starting from October 22.

This includes allowing app developers to set up and use alternative billing systems for apps and subscriptions, bypassing Google’s own payment system and its 30% app tax. In addition, developers will be able to freely link users to download options outside of the Play Store without scare screens appearing for the users.

Google is also prohibited from offering device makers or carriers any form of money or perks to deter them from pre-installing third-party app stores on devices. Google must also work out a way to allow third-party app stores to be publicly visible within the Play Store and operate freely with full access to its app catalog over the next three years.

Source (PDF)