Google will start carrying rival app stores inside Google Play on July 22 after it and Epic withdrew their antitrust settlement, which leaves it subject to the court’s complete set of antitrust penalties, according to Ars Technica. Judge James Donato’s original injunction hands third-party stores the entire Google Play app library by default, with developers free to opt out, and lets Google charge a $5,000 annual security-review fee. Stores in the program have to screen out malware, honor IP, and support app updates and uninstalls, and get booted if over 1% of install attempts look like malware or unwanted software. Epic’s 2020 fight over the 30% cut Google and Apple took on Fortnite purchases started the case, and the scrapped settlement had offered a weaker, sideload-based “Registered App Store” program that drew court skepticism.
