A court ruling has temporarily suspended the enforcement of a decision requiring Google to open its operating system to competition

A U.S. judge on Friday granted Google permission to delay opening its Android-based smartphones to competing app stores, postponing the November 1st deadline in an antitrust case filed by Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.

A spokesperson for Google expressed the tech giant’s relief at federal judge James Donato’s decision to temporarily halt the implementation of what Google called “risky measures” demanded by Epic. Meanwhile, an appellate court is considering a permanent injunction related to Epic’s claims that Google’s Play Store constitutes an illegal monopoly.

The Google representative added that these measures would undermine Google Play’s ability to provide a safe and secure experience, and that the company looks forward to continuing its legal battle.

In response to the ruling, an Epic Games spokesperson stated in an email to AFP that Google’s appeal is “without merit,” noting that the case has been referred to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals instead of the original order being directly overturned. The spokesperson described the temporary halt as “a mere procedural step.”

Approximately 70% of the world’s smartphones operate on Android.

Google has faced a series of legal challenges recently due to its dominant position. In August, another judge ruled that Google’s search engine constitutes an illegal monopoly.

The company is also involved in a third federal antitrust case in Virginia, concerning its control over the online advertising sector.

Under the order in Epic Games’ lawsuit, Google is set to be barred from engaging in several anti-competitive practices over the next three years. The court found that Google had made its Play Store the only way to process payments for third-party apps, including Fortnite.

A significant portion of app store revenue comes from video games, and Epic has long sought to allow payments for its mobile games to bypass the commission fees charged by Google and Apple, which can reach up to 30%, according to AFP.

Epic previously lost a similar case against Apple, with a U.S. judge largely ruling in favor of the iPhone manufacturer.

Both Apple and Google have consistently argued that their app store commissions are in line with industry standards and that the funds are used to enhance services such as customer access, transaction security, and malware detection.