Google has been given just 14 days to comply with a landmark court ruling that could significantly alter the landscape of its Android ecosystem, following Epic Games’ second major victory in their long-running antitrust battle.
The ruling, which upheld Judge James Donato’s permanent injunction, mandates that Google implement sweeping changes to its Play Store business practices by mid-August—unless it manages to secure an emergency stay from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The changes stem from a jury verdict that found Google guilty of operating an illegal monopoly around Android app distribution and in-app billing. Although Google has vowed to appeal and may escalate the case to the full Ninth Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court, the tech giant is, for now, bound by the clock. It must begin dismantling core parts of its current model within two weeks.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
What Google Must Change—Immediately
The court order demands that Google stop forcing developers to use its Google Play Billing system. It also requires that Android developers be allowed to:
- Inform users about alternative payment methods from within the Play Store.
- Link to app downloads outside of the Play Store.
- Set their own app pricing models.
- Freely distribute apps on competing platforms without restrictions or penalty.
Additionally, Google must cease offering monetary perks or strategic advantages to phonemakers, carriers, or developers in exchange for prioritizing the Google Play Store or preinstalling its apps.
These reforms target what are known as anti-steering provisions—rules that, in both this case and Epic’s earlier suit against Apple, were found to unfairly restrict competition by discouraging developers from using alternative app stores or billing systems.
In its emergency motion seeking a pause, Google argued that enforcing these measures on such a short timeline would pose “substantial risks” to over 500,000 developers and “millions of users,” claiming the transition could jeopardize the “entire Android ecosystem.” So far, the courts remain unconvinced.
Specific Provisions Going Into Effect
The injunction explicitly spells out the key changes Google must implement. The remedies taking effect in 14 days include:
Remedy 4: Google is barred from sharing revenue with any entity that distributes or is planning to distribute an Android app store, in order to prevent financial coercion in favor of Google Play.
Remedy 5: Google may not tie payments, revenue share, or access to any of its services to an app being launched first or exclusively on the Play Store.
Remedy 6: The company is also banned from conditioning perks or services on the promise that developers won’t release versions of their apps with additional features on third-party stores.
Remedy 7: OEMs and carriers can no longer be pressured to preinstall Google Play in prominent device locations in exchange for financial or strategic incentives.
Remedy 9: Google must drop its requirement that developers use only Google Play Billing. It also cannot prohibit developers from communicating with users about alternative payment methods or adjusting app pricing depending on the payment platform.
Remedy 10: Developers must be free to discuss pricing and availability of apps outside the Play Store and provide direct download links.
Remedy 13: Within 30 days, both Epic and Google must jointly select a Technical Committee tasked with reviewing disputes and overseeing compliance with these reforms.
The duration of most provisions is set at three years, until November 1, 2027.
Rival App Stores and More
These immediate changes don’t yet include the most radical reforms Epic is pushing for: forcing Google to allow rival app stores to be listed and installed directly within the Google Play Store. Judge Donato gave Google eight months to design a narrowly tailored set of safety and security rules to accommodate that next phase. As it stands, rival app stores such as the Epic Games Store or Microsoft’s Xbox Store won’t appear inside Google Play before early 2026.
Still, the ruling marks a pivotal shift in Android’s regulatory oversight, and it raises the likelihood of more app store competition long-term.
Google’s Ongoing Defense
Despite the loss, Google maintains that its Android ecosystem fosters innovation and offers broad user choice. In its stay request, the company said the ruling would cause “irreparable harm,” especially since it would have to retool billing, developer communication policies, and incentive structures in just two weeks.
A three-judge panel has already rejected one stay request, affirming the district court’s full injunction as valid and appropriately scoped. The likelihood of securing another emergency pause remains uncertain.
The court’s language suggests this isn’t just about fairness for Epic—it’s about opening up an ecosystem long governed by unilateral rules and exclusive agreements, many of which have become foundational to Google’s mobile dominance.
If the Ninth Circuit or the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene, Google will have to comply with the injunction or risk contempt of court. While its appeal continues, developers and competitors are watching closely for what could be the most significant restructuring of the Android app economy since the platform launched.
For Epic, the ruling is another notch in its antitrust crusade against big tech’s walled gardens. For Google, it’s an existential test of how much control it can retain over a system that, in the words of the court, was never supposed to be a monopoly in the first place.