No More Changes for Google Play Store: Judge Grants Temporary Administrative Stay

In a significant development, a judge has granted a temporary administrative stay, effectively putting a halt to the proposed changes to the Google Play Store. This decision was made in the wake of Google losing the Epic lawsuit and was prompted by a request from Google for a longer stay to allow for the appeals process to play out.

As reported by The Verge, the pause is meant to enable Google to request a longer stay, which could last for several years. The district judge believes that the appeals court will grant this request, which was filed earlier this week.

In response to the pause, Google shared the following statement:

“We’re pleased with the District Court’s decision to temporarily pause the implementation of dangerous remedies demanded by Epic, as the Court of Appeal considers our request to further pause the remedies while we appeal. These remedies threaten Google Play’s ability to provide a safe and secure experience, and we look forward to continuing to make our case to protect 100 million U.S. Android users, over 500,000 U.S. developers, and thousands of partners who have benefited from our platforms.”

The original deadline of November 1 would have required Google to implement significant changes to the Play Store, including:

* Allowing other in-app payment methods
* Allowing developers to “link to download the app outside the Google Play Store”
* Communicating app availability and pricing

These changes would have had a significant impact on the Android ecosystem, with Microsoft planning to take advantage of the new opportunities.

Additionally, Google, in partnership with OEMs and other partners, would have been able to:

* Not condition payments, revenue shares, or access to Google products and services on an agreement by an app developer not to launch on a third-party Android app distribution platform or store
* Not condition payments, revenue shares, or access to Google products and services on an agreement by an app developer to launch an app first or exclusively in the Google Play Store
* Not condition payments, revenue shares, or access to Google products and services on an agreement with an OEM or carrier not to preinstall an Android app distribution platform or store
* Not condition payments, revenue shares, or access to Google products and services on an agreement with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or carrier to preinstall the Google Play Store on any specific location on an Android device
* Not share revenue generated by the Google Play Store with any person or entity that distributes Android apps, or has stated that it will launch or is considering launching an Android app distribution platform or store

However, the pause also means that the mandate requiring Google to distribute third-party app stores and give them access to the Play Store catalog will be put on hold. Google has eight months to make these changes.

For more information, visit [Sources] [GitHub].