Epic judge lets Google keep its Android app store closed to competitors — for now

Google just netted a small but key victory in its Epic legal battle. Last week, the company asked Judge James Donato to press pause on his November 1st deadline to drastically alter its Android app store rules. Today, he did just that, Epic and Google confirm to The Verge, granting Google a temporary administrative stay on all but one specific piece of his ruling.

That means Google may not have to open up its Play Store for years, if at all, while it appeals the verdict. In December, a jury unanimously decided that Google’s Android app store, the Play Store, had become an illegal monopoly, though Google is now appealing that jury verdict as well as the court’s order.

Technically, today’s temporary administrative stay only pushes back the clock a bit, long enough for the appeals court to weigh in on a longer stay, but Judge Donato reportedly told the courtroom he suspects the Ninth Circuit will grant that longer stay, too — which could genuinely let Google off the hook till it gets through appeal. The judge declined to give Google a longer stay himself.

However, Judge Donato did not press pause on one specific part of his ruling, one that could open a crack for rival app stores, according to court documents. Starting November 1st, 2024, and continuing until November 1st, 2027, Google is ordered not to make deals with carriers or device makers that block preinstallation of rival app stores in exchange for money, revenue share, or perks.

Had Judge Donato left the original deadline in place, his order would also have let developers stop using Google’s Play Billing as soon as November 1st. Google also would’ve been barred from using certain financial incentives to keep developers loyal to the store. Plus, it would have kicked off an eight-month countdown to Google carrying third-party app marketplaces inside its own Play Store. You can read about the full list of changes that Judge Donato ordered in his permanent injunction embedded here.

Originally, Judge Donato gave Google less than a month to begin cracking open its app store, and Google argued it should get the same 90 days that Apple got to make app store changes. (Google also argued that Epic, which filed both the Apple and Google lawsuits, didn’t object to a 90-day timeline.) With Judge Donato’s original deadline lifted, Google is at least briefly off the hook and has potentially started down the same path Apple took that let it delay removing its anti-steering App Store rules for over two years.

If not for the stay, Judge Donato’s ruling could have had almost immediate effects for consumers, not just developers. Microsoft said it would start letting people buy and play games in the Xbox Android App, for instance, and Epic said it’s bringing the Epic Games Store to Google Play next year. Unless the Ninth Circuit denies a stay, it could be years before those things happen.

Google tells The Verge it’s pleased with today’s decision:

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. These remedies threaten Google Play’s ability to provide a safe and secure experience and we look forward to continuing to make our case to protect 100 million U.S. Android users, over 500,000 U.S. developers and thousands of partners who have benefited from our platforms.

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. Google continues to use fearmongering and unsubstantiated security threats to protect their control over Android devices and continue extracting exorbitant fees. The pause in the injunction is merely a procedural step to allow the Ninth Circuit time to decide Google’s request to stay the injunction pending appeal.

Update, October 18th: Added Epic’s statement.

Correction, October 18th: An earlier version of this story incorrectly suggested Judge Donato wholly lifted his November 1st deadline pending appeal. In fact, Donato decided not to stay one specific part of his injunction re: Google’s deals with OEMs and carriers.