Judge delays order in antitrust case requiring Google to open up its app store

AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge has delayed an order requiring Google to open up its Android app store to more competition. That’s until an appeals court decides whether to block the shake-up because of legal questions surrounding a jury’s verdict that branded Google as a monopolist. The delay comes less than two weeks after U.S. District Judge James Donato issued a decision that would have forced Google to begin making sweeping changes to its Play Store for Android smartphones beginning Nov. 1. Donato doesn’t believe Google will be able to overturn the jury verdict that led to his ruling, but decided to defer to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.