**Supreme Court Denies Google’s Appeal, Upholds Play Store Reform Order**
*By Mudit Dube | Oct 07, 2025, 10:30 AM*
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**Overview**
The US Supreme Court has declined Google’s request to stay a lower court’s order that mandates significant changes to its Play Store. This decision comes as Google prepares to appeal a lawsuit ruling filed by Epic Games, the developer of the popular game Fortnite.
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**Injunction Details**
The injunction was issued last year by US District Judge James Donato. It requires Google to allow users to download rival app stores within the Play Store and make Play Store’s app catalog available to competitors. However, these changes will not take effect until July 2026.
Additionally, the judge ruled that Google must permit developers to include external links in their apps. This would enable users to bypass Google’s billing system.
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**Background of the Legal Battle**
Epic Games filed the lawsuit against Google in 2020, accusing the tech giant of violating antitrust laws through its restrictive app store policies. Epic won a jury trial in San Francisco in 2023, and the July ruling was subsequently upheld by a federal appeals court.
Google has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The company called Judge Donato’s order unprecedented, warning that implementing the changes could cause reputational harm, introduce safety and security risks, and potentially place Google at a competitive disadvantage.
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**Google’s Appeal Strategy**
In its Supreme Court filing, Google highlighted that the mandated changes could impact over 100 million US Android users and 500,000 developers. The company intends to file a full appeal with the Supreme Court by October 27, which could lead the justices to take up the case during their current nine-month term.
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**Epic Games’ Position**
Epic has accused Google of using “flawed security claims” as a pretext to maintain control over Android devices. The developer urges the Supreme Court to let Judge Donato’s injunction take effect, arguing that consumers and developers would benefit from increased competition, more choices, and lower prices.
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**Appeals Court Ruling**
In July, a three-judge panel from the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction. The panel noted that Epic’s lawsuit was “replete with evidence that Google’s anticompetitive conduct entrenched its dominance” in the app store market.
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**What’s Next?**
As the legal battle continues, industry observers are closely watching to see how the Supreme Court will handle Google’s full appeal later this month, which could dramatically reshape the Android app ecosystem.
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*Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.*
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/supreme-court-rules-against-google-forcing-play-store-policy-overhauls/story