United States of America: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued ruling in lawsuit pertaining to alleged monopoly in Google play's billing system

On 31 July 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a unanimous jury verdict and a permanent injunction previously issued by the District Court for the Northern District of California in Epic Games v Google. The Court found that Epic had established relevant product markets for Android app distribution and in-app billing services, and a geographic market of “worldwide excluding China.” The jury determined that Google had violated federal and California antitrust law by maintaining monopoly power, restraining trade, and unlawfully tying the Play Store to its billing system. The Ninth Circuit upheld a three-year injunction barring Google from offering incentives to app distributors, developers, or device makers in exchange for favouring the Play Store and requiring that developers be allowed to inform users about alternative billing, pricing, and distribution options.