Google is taking its long-running battle with Epic Games to the US Supreme Court. After losing at trial and facing multiple failed attempts to delay an injunction, the company has now filed a petition asking the country’s highest court to put the brakes on a ruling that could drastically change how Android apps and payments work.
The original case dates back to 2020, when Epic sued both Apple and Google over what it called monopolistic app store practices. Apple fought its way to a mixed outcome, but Google took a heavier hit in 2023 when a jury found it had abused its dominance with the Play Store and in-app billing system.
Judge James Donato later issued a broad injunction against Google, requiring the company to give developers more freedom. This includes allowing third-party billing, linking to outside payment systems, and letting apps be distributed through competing app stores without fear of retaliation. Google says following these rules as written would create major security risks for over 100 million Android users and many developers in the US. The company also worries it could hurt its reputation as a trusted app platform.
The company has already appealed the ruling, but so far, lower courts have not sided with it. Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Google’s request for a longer freeze on the injunction, and also declined to rehear the case with the full bench, leaving the company with few options other than knocking on the Supreme Court’s door, Reuters reports.
What Google wants from the justices
In its petition, Google is asking the Supreme Court for two things: an immediate stay that would pause the injunction while its appeal plays out, and ultimately, a review of what it calls legal overreach. The company insists the remedies go beyond what’s reasonable in an antitrust case brought by a private plaintiff.
Google warns that if it has to start complying in October, the changes could upend Android’s ecosystem overnight. It’s pushing for a decision on the stay by October 17, with its full appeal due on October 27. Meanwhile, Judge Donato has set October 30 as the deadline for compliance plans from both Google and Epic.
Unsurprisingly, Epic sees things differently. The Fortnite maker argues that Google’s security warnings are just scare tactics meant to delay long-overdue competition. Epic has maintained throughout the trial that users deserve more payment choices, developers deserve better revenue options, and that Google’s current setup stifles innovation. It also proposed remedies that go further than what the court ordered, including stricter limits on anti-steering rules and exclusive incentives, though Google says those demands are self-serving and disruptive. Meanwhile, this battle is running in parallel to Apple’s own dispute with Epic, where Apple has likewise asked the Supreme Court to review a similar injunction against its App Store.
