{
  "id": 890742,
  "title": "Judge gives Google one week to fix \"anticompetitive\" app store download in Google Play",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/judge-gives-google-one-week-to-fix-anticompetitive-app-store-download",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-14T15:46:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ars Technica",
    "slug": "ars-technica",
    "url": "https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/08/google-ordered-to-make-it-easier-to-download-alternative-android-app-stores/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Google has been granted one week by US District Judge James Donato to rectify issues with its anticompetitive behavior in the Google Play Store. The judge reviewed the process for accessing third-party app stores and found that Google added unnecessary anticompetitive friction. Despite Epic and Google currently being in a partnership agreement, the two remain on opposing sides of the US antitrust case. Google lost the case in 2023 and has been working on implementing remedies. One of the court's key elements is requiring Google to include third-party app stores in the Play Store, enabling users to easily obtain apps from non-Google sources. Aptoide Games is the first such app store to be included. However, Google attempted to avoid this outcome by settling with Epic to keep third-party app stores out. Judge Donato was not satisfied with Google's implementation, stating that it was not sufficient during a Thursday hearing.",
  "summary": "Third-party app stores are about to become more visible in Google Play.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Digital Trends",
        "title": "Google Meet can finally take notes for your in-person meetings",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/google-meet-can-finally-take-notes-for-your-in-person-meetings",
        "published": "2026-08-14T04:21:19.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Techmeme",
        "title": "Epic v. Google: in a compliance hearing, a judge orders Google to remove \"anticompetitive friction\" for installing third-party app stores from its Play Store (Sean Hollister/The Verge)",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/epic-v-google-in-a-compliance-hearing-a-judge-orders-google-to-remove",
        "published": "2026-08-14T10:05:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Android Authority",
        "title": "Big app download hogging your data? Google Play Store may finally let you pause it",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/big-app-download-hogging-your-data-google-play-store-may-finally-let",
        "published": "2026-08-14T13:10:05.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Android Police",
        "title": "I used Google Chrome wrong for months; here's the setup that finally stuck",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/i-used-google-chrome-wrong-for-months-heres-the-setup-that-finally",
        "published": "2026-08-14T15:15:16.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Dev.to",
        "title": "PopSQL shutting down means a lot of people need a new way to get data from their database into Google Sheets. I've been building SaturnSQL for this. Schedule queries and the results go straight into Sheets. Check it out at https://saturnsql.com",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/popsql-shutting-down-means-a-lot-of-people-need-a-new-way-to-get-data",
        "published": "2026-08-14T21:29:21.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}