Fabio Manganiello on Nostr: The trial against the Play Store has concluded with a full victory for those pushing ...
The trial against the Play Store has concluded with a full victory for those pushing for more transparency and openness.
The situation on #Android IMHO isn’t as bad as that on Apple devices, where you can even forget to try and install an alternative app store. At least Android allows you to install F-Droid, Aurora, APKPure or any other store - it’s just that you have to go to their website and download the APK directly from there. No competitors with the Play Store can be downloaded from the Play Store. And that still amounts to abuse of dominant position, according to the common doctrine.
On top of that, apps distributed through the Play Store can only use Google’s payments system, and it pays basically all Android device manufacturers to install their own store and not any other by default. Also, alternative stores can’t access the full API available to the Play Store - which means that they can’t handle payments of apps available only on the Play Store, and they can’t do things like updating apps in the background.
The ruling states that Google should:
Stop requiring Google Play Billing for apps distributed on the Google Play Store (the jury found that Google had illegally tied its payment system to its app store)
Let Android developers tell users about other ways to pay from within the Play Store
Let Android developers link to ways to download their apps outside of the Play Store
Let Android developers set their own prices for apps irrespective of Play Billing
Google also can’t:
Share app revenue “with any person or entity that distributes Android apps” or plans to launch an app store or app platform
Offer developers money or perks to launch their apps on the Play Store exclusively or first
Offer developers money or perks not to launch their apps on rival stores
Offer device makers or carriers money or perks to preinstall the Play Store
Offer device makers or carriers money or perks not to preinstall rival stores
https://www.theverge.com/policy/2024/10/7/24243316/epic-google-permanent-injunction-ruling-third-party-stores
The situation on #Android IMHO isn’t as bad as that on Apple devices, where you can even forget to try and install an alternative app store. At least Android allows you to install F-Droid, Aurora, APKPure or any other store - it’s just that you have to go to their website and download the APK directly from there. No competitors with the Play Store can be downloaded from the Play Store. And that still amounts to abuse of dominant position, according to the common doctrine.
On top of that, apps distributed through the Play Store can only use Google’s payments system, and it pays basically all Android device manufacturers to install their own store and not any other by default. Also, alternative stores can’t access the full API available to the Play Store - which means that they can’t handle payments of apps available only on the Play Store, and they can’t do things like updating apps in the background.
The ruling states that Google should:
Stop requiring Google Play Billing for apps distributed on the Google Play Store (the jury found that Google had illegally tied its payment system to its app store)
Let Android developers tell users about other ways to pay from within the Play Store
Let Android developers link to ways to download their apps outside of the Play Store
Let Android developers set their own prices for apps irrespective of Play Billing
Google also can’t:
Share app revenue “with any person or entity that distributes Android apps” or plans to launch an app store or app platform
Offer developers money or perks to launch their apps on the Play Store exclusively or first
Offer developers money or perks not to launch their apps on rival stores
Offer device makers or carriers money or perks to preinstall the Play Store
Offer device makers or carriers money or perks not to preinstall rival stores
https://www.theverge.com/policy/2024/10/7/24243316/epic-google-permanent-injunction-ruling-third-party-stores