Epic judge says he’ll ‘tear the barriers down’ on Google’s app store monopoly

Judge James Donato conscionable made it crystal-clear: Google volition pay.

Eight months aft a national assemblage unanimously decided that Google’s Android app store is an amerciable monopoly successful Epic v. Google, Donato held his last proceeding connected remedies today. While we don’t yet cognize what volition happen, helium repeatedly unopen down immoderate proposition that Google shouldn’t person to unfastened up its store to rival stores, oregon that it’d beryllium excessively overmuch work, oregon outgo excessively much, oregon that the projected remedies spell excessively far.

“We’re going to teardrop the barriers down, it’s conscionable the mode it’s going to happen,” said Donato. “The satellite that exists contiguous is the merchandise of monopolistic conduct. That satellite is changing.” Donato volition contented his last ruling successful a small implicit 2 weeks.

While Epic won the assemblage proceedings past December, it’s been up to the justice to determine however to hole the harm that Google’s monopoly caused. In April, Epic revealed it was asking the tribunal to efficaciously ace the Google Play store wide unfastened — by forcing Google to fto rival stores unrecorded wrong its ain Google Play store, and giving them entree to each Google Play app, too.

That way, an Android idiosyncratic could freely determine whether they similar Google oregon idiosyncratic other arsenic their app landlord.

Surprisingly, today’s last proceeding connected remedies began with some parties agreeing that opening up the Play Store is doable, possibly not adjacent that hard — but they fought astir however agelong it would take, however overmuch it would cost, and particularly whether Google would beryllium capable to unit each app successful each rival store to acquisition quality reappraisal by Google earlier it lets those stores into Google Play.

Google argued that it shouldn’t hypothetically beryllium forced to transportation a Nazi app, arsenic 1 example: “If the American Nazi Party app came to Play, Play would accidental no,” said Google’s pb lawyer Glenn Pomerantz.

But Epic pb lawyer Gary Bornstein aboriginal countered: “If Google is really reviewing each azygous app connected a third-party store, it gives Google the gatekeeping authorization it has already abused.” And Judge Donato made it wide helium plans to prohibition immoderate non-discriminatory behaviour erstwhile it comes to however Google treats rival app stores, up to and including quality review.

In his closing argument, Google’s pb lawyer Glenn Pomerantz came adjacent to suggesting that the absorption Judge Donato is aiming constitutes Soviet Russia-era communism, arguing that courts person antecedently said “central planning,” of the benignant that would unit Google to transportation rival app stores successful bid to make caller competition, isn’t allowed. (Earlier, Donato said “The full constituent of this is to turn a plot of rival app stores.”)

But Donato said helium won’t “micromanage” Google present oregon centrally program the results. Instead, he’ll bid Epic and Google to make a “technical compliance and monitoring committee,” with 1 typical from Epic, 1 from Google, and a 3rd they some hold on, to arbitrate the method details and study backmost to the tribunal each 90 days oregon so.

Donato told Google: “When you person a upland that’s built retired of atrocious conduct, you person to determination that mountain. That’s what’s going to happen.”