As part of a broader antitrust ruling, Google has been ordered to stop its controversial practice of forcing device makers to pre-install its entire suite of apps in order to get the Google Play Store on Android. This change represents a significant win for the Department of Justice and could open up the Android ecosystem to greater competition.
For years, manufacturers who wanted to offer the popular Play Store on their smartphones were also required to feature apps like Chrome and Google Search prominently. Critics argued this “tying” arrangement was an illegal tactic to extend Google’s dominance from the operating system to the application layer, stifling innovation from other app developers.
The ruling by Judge Amit Mehta dismantles this requirement, giving manufacturers more freedom to choose which apps they feature on their devices. This could lead to a more diverse range of default browsers, search apps, and other services on new Android phones, providing consumers with more choice right out of the box.
While the headline news from the case was Google avoiding a breakup, this specific remedy targeting Android is a crucial structural change. It directly addresses one of the key monopolistic behaviors identified by the government and could have a lasting impact on the mobile app landscape, creating new opportunities for developers to compete with Google’s own services.
