Google has asked the Supreme Court to block a lower court order that would force the tech giant to make a series of major changes to its Play app store.
Google urged the justices to step in and pause portions of a trial judge’s order, set to take effect on Oct. 22, arguing that the requirements were likely to “cause irreparable harm, including harm to millions of Android users and thousands of developers.”
The tech company filed a request for emergency relief to the court on Wednesday, according to a company spokesman. The New York Times reviewed the filing, which has not yet appeared on the court’s public docket.
The emergency filing stems from a yearslong challenge by Epic Games, the maker of the hit game Fortnite. In 2018, Epic Games released Fortnite as a smartphone app. The company initially distributed the game through direct mobile downloads and through Samsung’s Galaxy Store, but eventually offered the game app on the Google Play Store.
Epic Games then embedded secret code into the app’s software so that players could bypass Google’s required payment-processing systems, which charged a 30 percent commission. Epic Games dubbed its efforts “Project Liberty,” part of a protest against what it viewed as restrictive choices for app distribution and in-app billing.
Google quickly removed Fortnite from the Play Store, arguing that it had failed to comply with its terms of service. Epic Games then sued in 2020, accusing Google of maintaining a monopoly in the smartphone app store market and engaging in anticompetitive conduct.
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The post Google Asks Supreme Court to Intervene in Dispute With Fortnite Creator appeared first on New York Times.
