Google and Epic agree on worldwide Android changes
Surprisingly, Google and Epic have reached an agreement on a joint proposal in the Android legal dispute. The planned changes are to apply worldwide.
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Google and Epic have reached an agreement on a joint proposal in the legal dispute over the Android ecosystem, which will now be submitted to the responsible judge, James Donato. If he approves the proposal, the Android ecosystem faces major changes. This is because the reforms jointly developed go partly even further than what Donato had previously imposed on Google.
Above all, Google and Epic propose worldwide changes in their jointly developed Android compromise, while Donato's injunctions, dating back to a 2023 ruling, only applied to the USA. According to the new proposal, independent app stores worldwide are to enjoy a better standing as long as they meet Google's security requirements, among other things. Such app stores could be classified as "registered app stores," enjoy more privileges, and ensure more competition in the Android ecosystem, it states in the court document, which Reuters has published, among others.
Alternative payment methods allowed
Furthermore, developers are to be allowed to offer alternative payment methods within their apps and even link to external web addresses for payment processing. However, Google can apparently continue to require its payment system in the Play Store; other payment methods can be optionally integrated in addition.
The exact details of the fees incurred are still somewhat vague: depending on the type of transaction, developers would have to pay a maximum of 20 or 9 percent of their revenue from apps offered in the Play Store in the future if they use alternative payment methods. However, Google can also directly profit from payments made via alternative payment methods, as the document shows. However, the exact percentage is not explicitly stated.
Changes would apply until 2032
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Judge James Donato still has to approve the agreement between Epic and Google. Previously, Google had repeatedly postponed the provisions of its ruling through legal appeals. Most recently, Epic also agreed to a time extension before Google temporarily opened its Play Store in the USA at the end of October.
(dahe)
