STORY: A U.S. judge has ordered Google to open up its app store to competitors.
Monday’s ruling by a San Francisco court listed changes the search giant needs to make.
That includes making Android apps available from rival sources.
It also requires Google to allow users to download alternative app stores, and bans it from blocking in-app payment methods.
Those stipulations will be in force for three years.
The order flows from a court victory last year by Epic Games, the maker of the gaming megahit Fortnite.
That lawsuit alleged that Google monopolized how consumers access apps and make payments.
On Monday, Epic boss Tim Sweeney said the new ruling was “big news”, and promised his firm’s own game store would come to Android phones next year.
He said app developers had three years to build an alternative to the Play Store, and make it so good that Google wouldn’t be able to shut it down.
Google said the ruling might be good news for Epic, but would end up harming consumers and game developers.
It has pledged to keep fighting its case in court.
Shares in parent firm Alphabet closed 2.5% lower Monday following the new ruling.
In a separate antitrust case, a judge ruled in August that Google had illegally monopolized Web search, spending billions to become the internet’s default search engine.
The company is also on trial in Virginia, where a Justice Department lawsuit alleges it abused its dominance in the market for advertising technology.
Google denies the claims against it in all the ongoing cases.
