Google’s App store risks becoming a malware cesspool: Antitrust lawsuit

For over a decade, tech giant Google has consolidated its services—books, games, apps, music, movies, and the Android market—under one platform, Google Play, allowing users to access and download them from a single marketplace.

However, this platform is now facing a serious challenge. A U.S. court has ordered Google, as part of an antitrust lawsuit, to allow third-party app stores and payment systems to operate on its platform for the next three years.

While this decision grants users more freedom, experts warn it could introduce new risks. Alesia Zhuk, a legal researcher specializing in emerging technologies at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Spain, told TRT World that while users will gain more options, app security and privacy may be compromised.

“Third-party app stores could introduce security vulnerabilities and may not have the same level of scrutiny,” Zhuk cautions. “Developers could bypass Google’s safeguards, increasing the risk of malicious software or apps with weak privacy protections.”

Antitrust Lawsuits

This ruling is part of a larger wave of scrutiny that began with the 2020 antitrust case against Google’s search practices, where the U.S. government accused the company of maintaining an “illegal monopoly” for the first time in a generation.

The recent injunction, issued by Judge James Donato, outlines steps Google must take to open its Play Store to greater competition, including allowing Android apps from rival platforms. The order follows a jury verdict in a lawsuit brought by Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, which accused Google of unlawfully stifling competition through its control over app distribution and payments.

Under the injunction, Google is prohibited from blocking alternative in-app payment methods and must allow users to install third-party app stores for three years. The company is also barred from paying device manufacturers to preinstall its app store and from sharing Play Store revenue with other app distributors.

Judge Donato’s injunction will take effect on November 1, giving Google time to update its agreements and practices to comply with the ruling.

Meanwhile, other antitrust cases against Google continue in several states. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused Google of leveraging its other products, like the Chrome browser and Android operating system, to drive users to its search engine, where it profits from selling ads.

Google has argued that the online advertising market remains competitive, citing a Wall Street Journal report showing more users shifting to platforms like TikTok and Amazon for their searches.

In Washington, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in favor of the DOJ in August, while another federal court case in Virginia, heard in September, argued that Google illegally monopolized web search by spending billions to secure its position as the default search engine on most devices.

Google strongly opposes both rulings, calling them “radical” and “sweeping,” and claiming they could harm consumers, businesses, and developers.