التحديث، 18 أكتوبر، الساعة 5 مساءً بالتوقيت الشرقي: وقد منح قاضي المقاطعة جيمس دوناتو وقفًا إداريًا. يؤدي هذا فعليًا إلى إيقاف أمر دوناتو المسبق، والذي كان من المقرر أن يدخل حيز التنفيذ قريبًا، مؤقتًا حتى تحل الدائرة التاسعة اقتراح بقاء Google. وفي بيان قدمه لموقع Engadget، قال متحدث باسم Google:
“We’re pleased with the District Court’s decision to temporarily pause the implementation of dangerous remedies demanded by Epic, as the Court of Appeal considers our request to further pause the remedies while we appeal. These remedies threaten Google Play’s ability to provide a safe and secure experience and we look forward to continuing to make our case to protect 100 million U.S. Android users, over 500,000 U.S. developers and thousands of partners who have benefited from our platforms.”
The original story follows.
Google has formally filed a motion [PDF] asking the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to put a pause on the order that forces the company to open the Play store to competitors. If you’ll recall, Google lost an antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games after a federal jury found that the company held an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing services for Android devices. Earlier this month, US District Judge James Donato ordered Google to allow third-party app stores access to the Google Play app catalog and to make those stores downloadable from its storefront. Now, Google is asking the court for a stay on that order while it’s appealing the Epic antitrust lawsuit decision, saying that it will expose 100 million Android users in the US to “مخاطر أمنية جديدة كبيرة.”
The company called the order “ضارة وغير مبررة” and said that if it’s allowed to stand, it will threaten Google’s ability to “توفير تجربة استخدام آمنة وموثوقة.” It argued that if it makes third-party app stores available for download from Google Play, people might think that the company is vouching for them, which could raise “مخاطر حقيقية ل [its] المستخدمين.” Those app stores could have “حماية أقل صرامة” Google explained, that could expose users to harmful and malicious apps.
It also said that giving third-party stores access to the Play catalog could harm businesses that don’t want their products available alongside inappropriate or malicious content. Giving third-party stores access to its entire library could give “سيئة النية” stores a “قشرة الشرعية.” Moreover, it argued that allowing developers to link out from their apps “يخلق خطرًا كبيرًا للروابط الخادعة،” since bad actors could use the feature for phishing attacks to compromise users’ devices and steal their data.
One of court’s main proposed changes is to allow developers to remove Google Play billing as an option, allowing them to offer their apps to Android users without having to pay the company a commission. However, Google said that by allowing developers to remove its billing system, it could “فرض خيار قد لا يحتوي على الضمانات والميزات التي يتوقعها المستخدمون.”
In its filing, Google emphasized that the three weeks the court gave it to make these sweeping changes is too short for a “مهمة شاقة.” It creates an “خطر غير مقبول على السلامة” that could lead to major issues affecting the functionality of users’ Android devices, it said. The company also questioned why the court sided with Epic in its antitrust lawsuit, whereas it sided with Apple in a similar case also filed by the video game company. “من المثير للدهشة أن شركة Apple، التي تتطلب مرور جميع التطبيقات من خلال متجر التطبيقات الخاص بها، ليست محتكرة، ولكن Google – التي قامت ببناء خيار في نظام التشغيل Android حتى يتمكن صانعو الأجهزة من التثبيت المسبق ويمكن للمستخدمين تنزيل متاجر التطبيقات المنافسة – تمت إدانتها للاحتكار.”
Epic Games provided Engadget with the following statement: “كان حكم هيئة المحلفين وأمر المحكمة واضحين: ممارسات متجر Google Play المانعة للمنافسة غير قانونية. إن Google مجرد ترويج للخوف واستخدام الأمن بشكل خاطئ كذريعة لتأخير التغييرات التي أمرت بها المحكمة. هذا هو آخر جهد تبذله Google لحماية سيطرتها على Android ومواصلة تحصيل الرسوم الباهظة. يجب أن يدخل أمر المحكمة حيز التنفيذ بسرعة حتى يتمكن المطورون والمستهلكون من الاستفادة من المنافسة في النظام البيئي للهاتف المحمول.”