Judge orders Google to distribute third-party app stores on Google Play
A federal judge yesterday ordered Google to open up the Google Play Store and its collection of apps to third-party app stores as part of a US-wide injunction stemming from Epic Games' antitrust victory over the company. The injunction is scheduled to take effect on November 1, though Google will have up to eight months to implement certain provisions.
For three years, Google will have to let third-party Android app stores access the Google Play Store's catalog of apps "so that they may offer the Play Store apps to users," said the injunction issued by US District Judge James Donato of the Northern District of California.
App developers will have some control over which app stores their software is distributed on. "Google will provide developers with a mechanism for opting out of inclusion in catalog access for any particular third-party Android app store," the injunction said.