• by Wendy Davis , Yesterday

Google is asking the Supreme Court to halt an "unprecedented" lower court injunction that would require the company to make sweeping changes to its app marketplace.

That injunction exposes "users and developers to substantial new safety and security risks and compels Google to act as both supplier and distributor for its direct competitors," the company argues in a petition filed last week with Justice Elena Kagan.

Among other terms, the injunction requires Google Play to host other companies' app stores, and give outside companies access to Google's library of apps.

U.S. District Court Judge James Donato in the Northern District of California issued the order after a jury found that Google created or maintained an illegal monopoly in two “markets” -- Android app distribution, and Android in-app billing.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld both the jury's verdict and Donato's injunction.

Google plans to ask the Supreme Court to review the verdict, and is seeking an immediate stay of the injunction.

"Google, developers, and consumers will all suffer immediate irreparable harm absent a stay," the company writes.

Among other arguments, Google says allowing outside companies to access the Play catalog will create cybersecurity risks.

"Unfettered access to Google’s catalog of millions of apps would allow anyone with an internet connection to 'set up a shell third-party "store" and populate it with apps,'" the company argues, quoting from an earlier court proceeding.

"If other app stores suddenly have Play’s millions of apps, the stores can pose as legitimate (or even appear to be Play itself) without having to develop the capacity or reputation for security that leads to developer trust," Google adds.

Google also argues that those security vulnerabilities would affect Play's users and app developers -- who would then blame the Play store "for failing to keep them safe."

The company's petition marks the latest development in a battle dating to 2020, when Fortnite developer Epic Games sued both Google and Apple for allegedly violating antitrust laws.

Epic brought its lawsuit soon after Google and Apple removed Fortnite from their mobile app marketplaces for allegedly attempting to bypass commissions on in-app purchases. Both Google and Apple charge fees on purchases made in apps that have been downloaded from Google Play or the App store.

Officially, Google always allowed users to sideload apps -- meaning download them from sources other than the Play Store -- and doesn't charge commissions on in-app purchases from sideloaded apps.

But Epic contended that Google thwarted sideloading by displaying warnings about potential security risks. (Google -- which was also sued by state attorneys general -- said in 2023 it would streamline the sideloading process.)

Epic's suit against Apple went to trial in 2021, and largely resulted in a defeat for Epic. U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California, who presided over the non-jury trial, ruled that Epic failed to prove the bulk of its claims. 

By contrast, Epic's case against Google went to trial and resulted in a jury verdict against Google.

Google previously argued to the 9th Circuit that the verdict should be reversed because it was inconsistent with Rogers' ruling in Epic's suit against Apple.

The appellate court rejected that argument in August, writing that Epic's claims against Apple and Google were not "identical."

Kagan directed Epic to respond to Google's petition for a stay by October 3.