Search engine giant Google is breathing a huge sigh of relief after a judge granted the company a temporary administrative stay.
The company won’t need to bring some immediate changes into effect at the Play Store as previously ordered when it lost the Epic lawsuit. At that time, November 1 was the final date when the changes needed to come into play.
The news was first published by The Verge who says the pause will enable the higher court to give Google a longer stay until appeals play out. The latter might take up to a few years. As per the District Judge, the approval for Google’s request came after its filing this week.
The Android maker also shared the good news of a temporary pause through its newsroom and spokesperson. The statement read how the company is pleased to pause the implementation of dangerous remedies that Epic demands. They also shed light on how Google will appeal but until then, a pause is granted.
Google feels such remedies that Epic wants are threatening and dangerous. This hinders the ability to give users safe experiences on the platform, it continued. Similarly, it spoke about how it was preparing its case to ensure users remain safe as well as developers and partners.
Does this mean Google is not guilty? No, that’s not the case. In fact, the court made it clear that its appeal has zero merit and other requests to delay opening Android devices during this ongoing appeal were rejected. It also shows how Epic’s victory will give rise to serious changes in the industry where Google behaved as a monopoly for so long.
This includes charging huge fee amounts and protecting control of Android devices. This pause is a procedural step to enable Ninth Circuit time for Google’s request to stay, as the appeal pends. If things were allowed to go as planned, Google would have until November 1 to implement the huge changes on the Play Store. This includes enabling in-app payments and enabling developers to link for installs outside the Play Store. The same goes for being more transparent about app pricing. Microsoft also hoped to make use of all these new changes.
As the new pause comes into play, it would put on hold any mandates that force Google to distribute any third-party app stores. This means also giving them access to the Store’s catalog. Now. Google has eight months to bring the changes into effect.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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