Written by Mike Scarcella
(Reuters) – Google has asked a California federal judge to put on hold a court order that required it to open up its Play app store to greater competition.
In a statement filed with the court on Friday night, Google said that US District Judge James Donato’s order, which will take effect on November 1, will harm the company and present “serious security, safety, and privacy risks to the Android ecosystem.”
The tech giant, String (NASDAQ: ), has asked Donato to stay the order while it pursues an appeal.
A judge issued the order on Oct. 7 in a lawsuit brought by “Fortnite” maker Epic Games, which prompted a federal judge last year that Google illegally controlled how consumers download apps to Android devices and how they pay for in-app transactions.
The judge’s order said Google must allow users within Play to download third-party Android app platforms or stores and can no longer prevent the use of competing in-app payment methods. It also prevents Google from making payments to device makers to pre-install its app store and sharing revenue generated from the Google Play Store with other app distributors.
If Donato denies Google’s bid to stop the rule, the company can ask the San Francisco 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to do so while appealing the judge’s antitrust ruling.
Google filed its notice of appeal with the 9th Circuit on Thursday. The appeals court will ultimately be expected to weigh in and rule on Google’s challenge to Donato’s order.
