What’s next in the fight over Apple and Google’s app stores

The Justice Department has been quietly investigating Apple’s App Store practices since 2019. — Photo by James Yarema on Unsplash

Jurors took less than four hours to find Alphabet Inc’s Google unfairly wields monopoly power in its Android app store, a lightning fast win by Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc that’s galvanising efforts to rein in the power that Google and rival Apple Inc wield over mobile ecosystems.

Google has said it plans to appeal, but key legislation in Europe, investigations in the US and UK and an expected wave of follow-on lawsuits will keep pressure on the tech giants’ app store duopoly.