Play Store changes coming this month as SCOTUS declines to freeze antitrust remedies

Changes arrive at the Play Store despite a concerted effort from Google to maintain the status quo. The company asked the Supreme Court of the United States to freeze parts of the antitrust decision of the Play store while it continued an appeal, but the high court rejected this request. This means that the first elements of the antitrust remedies won by Epic Games will have to be implemented in a few weeks.

The case of the App Store is one of the three antitrust actions in progress against Google, but it is the most distant from them. Google lost the case in 2023 and, in 2024, the American district judge James Donato ordered a series of radical changes aimed at breaking Google’s illegal monopoly on the distribution of Android applications. In July, Google lost its initial attraction, leaving shortly before the start of compulsory changes.

His petition at the Supreme Court was the last greeted of Google to avoid opening the Play Store even a crack. Google asked the judges to suspend the appeals while waiting for its appeal, but the court refused to do so, reports Reuters. Hopefully Google has planned this possibility because it must implement the first phase of remedies by October 22.

The most spectacular changes are not due before July 2026, but this month will always bring major changes to Android applications. Google will have to allow developers to create a link to other payment methods and download outside the Play Store, and it cannot force developers to use Google Play Billing in the Play Store. Google is also forbidden to set prices for developers.