A US judge said Google needs to reform its app store.

The statement comes after a jury ruled in favor of "Fortnite" game developer Epic Games in an antitrust lawsuit last year.

Judge James Donato in the San Francisco District Court heard from tech experts and lawyers from Epic and Google about proposed changes in this major lawsuit.

He expressed dissatisfaction with Google's reasoning regarding the cost and difficulty of implementing Epic's proposals and hinted that he would make a decision to increase flexibility for users and developers in downloading and distributing applications outside of the Google Play app store.

Google's logo at the Made by Google event in Mountain View, California, USA, August 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo

Donato stated, "Google will have to pay the price to rectify the situation after being found to be a monopoly." He also indicated that his order would be brief, focusing on ensuring Google understands the "rules."

In the coming weeks, he will issue a ruling and establish a three-person committee to oversee the implementation and compliance with the order. The judge also emphasized that this decision aims to open the door to competition after years of Google's obstruction.

Epic's lawsuit alleges that Google has excessively controlled how consumers access the app on Android devices and how they make payments in in-app transactions.

Epic wants Google to make it easier for Android users to download apps from third-party app stores or other sources on the internet, and to prohibit Google from automatically installing Google Play Store on Android devices.

Google has denied harming competition and argues that Epic's proposals would make it difficult for them to compete and would affect consumer privacy and security.

Google is also facing another lawsuit from the US government regarding its control over the search engine, alleging that it has illegally monopolized the web search engine.

Cao Phong (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tham-phan-my-cho-biet-google-can-phai-cai-cach-cua-hang-ung-dung-post307758.html