Google has formally filed a motion [PDF] asking the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to stay an order that forces the company to open up the Play Store to competitors. If you recall, Google lost an antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games after a federal jury found that the company had an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing services for Android devices.
Earlier this month, US District Judge James Donato ordered Google to allow third-party app stores access to the Google Play app catalog and make those stores downloadable from its storefront.
Now, Google is asking the court to stay that order while appealing the Epic antitrust lawsuit verdict, saying it would expose 100 million Android users in the US to “substantial new security risks.”
The company called the order “harmful and unfair” and said that if it were upheld, it would threaten Google’s ability to “provide a safe and reliable user experience.” It argued that if it made third-party app stores available for download from Google Play, people might think the company was making a guarantee for them, which could pose “real risks to [its] users.” Google explained that those app stores may have “less rigorous security”, which could expose users to harmful and malicious apps.
It also said that giving third-party stores access to the Play catalog could harm businesses that do not want their products to be available alongside inappropriate or malicious content. Giving third-party stores access to its entire library could give “bad-intentioned” stores a “veil of legitimacy”. In addition, it argued that allowing developers to link to their apps “creates a significant risk of deceptive links”, as bad actors could use the feature for phishing attacks to compromise users’ devices and steal their data.
One of the main changes proposed by the court is to allow developers to remove Google Play billing as an option, allowing them to offer their apps to Android users without paying a commission to the company. However, Google said that by allowing developers to remove its billing system, it “may be implementing an alternative that may not have the security measures and features that users expect.”
In its document, Google emphasized that the three weeks given by the court to make these sweeping changes are too short for the “very difficult task”. It said that this creates an “unacceptable risk of security”, which could lead to major problems affecting the functionality of users’ Android device.
The company also questioned why the court sided with Epic in its antitrust suit, while it sided with Apple in a similar case filed by the video game company.
“It is intriguing that Apple, which forces all apps to go through its proprietary App Store, is not a monopolist, but Google — which built options into the Android operating system so that device manufacturers can preinstall and users can download competing app stores — was condemned for being a monopoly.”
Epic Games provided the following statement to Engadget: “The jury’s verdict and the court’s injunction were clear: Google’s anti-competitive Play Store practices are illegal. Google is simply spreading fear and unfairly using protections to delay court-mandated changes.
This is Google’s last-ditch effort to maintain its control over Android and continue charging excessive fees. The court’s injunction must take effect immediately so that developers and consumers can benefit from competition in the mobile ecosystem.”