‘Monopolist’ Google’s app store must reform

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• US judge says “monopolist” Google can’t avoid app store reforms.
• A hearing has been scheduled for September 6 to discuss the court’s timetable for taking remedial action against Google in the case.

OUR TAKE
Illegal monopolistic behaviour by enterprises is not only detrimental to the stability of the market environment, but also undermines, to a certain extent, the right of millions of consumers to make their own choices. In order to maintain normal competition in the market and protect application developers and consumers, the government should intervene in enterprises with illegal monopolies.
— Iydia Ding, BTW reporter

What happened

U.S. District Judge James Donato said Wednesday he will order a major overhaul of Google‘s Android app shop, forcing Alphabet‘s Google to provide Android users with more ways to download apps, but will not micromanage the tech giant’s business.

The jury recommended penalties against Google after declaring that it had designed a system that was allegedly a monopoly, to the detriment of millions of consumers and app developers. This follows last year’s jury verdict against Fortnite maker Epic Games on similar grounds.

During the three-hour-long hearing in San Francisco, the federal judge made it clear that he is considering, and may explicitly require in upcoming reforms, that Google’s Play shop for Android phones provide consumers with the option to download alternative app shops.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google spent billions of dollars to become the Internet’s default search engine. Google has denied the claim. A hearing has been scheduled for 6 September to discuss the court’s timetable for taking remedial action against Google in the case.

Also read: Could the US actually break up Google?

Also read: Google monopoly ruling will help Apple bring new opportunities

Why it’s important

Google’s strategy in the penalty phase of the Play Store case, which was heard on 6 September in Washington DC, may foreshadow its strategy in a similar round of “remedial hearings”. It can be expected that the judicial system will require a series of companies with “monopolistic behaviour” to carry out profound reforms to change the status quo of the market.

“This landmark decision holds Google accountable,” Jonathan Kanter, the Justice Department’s antitrust chief, said in a statement. “It paves the way for future generations to innovate and protects access to information for all Americans.” Government intervention against illegal monopolies is imperative in order to protect the right of millions of consumers to make their own choices, as well as the right to access information from multiple sources.