Fri Aug 01 14:18:37 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summarized news article based on the provided text, suitable for publication by *The Hindu*:

**Headline: Google Dealt Another Blow as Court Upholds Android App Store Monopoly Ruling**

**San Francisco, August 1, 2025:** In a major setback for the tech giant, a federal appeals court has upheld a jury verdict finding Google’s Android app store an illegal monopoly. The ruling, issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, supports a lower court decision ordering significant changes to the Play Store, potentially disrupting Google’s control over the Android app ecosystem.

The legal battle was initiated by Epic Games, the maker of popular games like Fortnite, which argued that Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store forced developers to use their payment systems with commission fees ranging from 15% to 30%. Epic Games sought to bypass these payment systems.

The appeals court rejected Google’s argument that the lower court erred in its jury instructions. The judges stated that Epic Games presented compelling evidence of Google’s anticompetitive behavior cementing its dominance in the market. Unless Google successfully delays the enforcement of the original court order, it will be required to open its Play Store to alternative app stores and facilitate their distribution.

Google has argued that these changes will compromise user privacy and security. Epic’s lawyers called Google’s warnings scare tactics. This ruling marks the latest in a series of antitrust defeats for Google. In December 2023 a jury determined Google was acting as a monopoly. Judgements against its search engine and advertising network followed. Google is also facing potential further legal action, including possible forced divestitures of its Chrome browser and advertising technology. The Department of Justice is pushing to ban the lucrative deals Google uses to keep its search engine the default option on devices. A trial on the latter is expected to begin in September.

This legal challenge signifies a major shift in the tech landscape, potentially giving consumers and developers more choices and challenging the dominance of major app store platforms.

Read More