A US District Judge, James Donato, has ordered Google to remove "anticompetitive friction" that hinders the installation of third-party app stores from the Google Play Store. This directive follows Google's recent distribution of these stores in the US, a move prompted by a court ruling and its settlement with Epic Games.

According to the court, Google's warning messages and multi-step installation process are designed to discourage users from opting for alternative app stores. Judge Donato mandated that installing a third-party app store should be as straightforward as installing any other Android app. Google has been given one week to implement these changes.

During a court session, Epic Games' lawyer demonstrated how searches for "store for apps" yielded no relevant results, and the process to install a found third-party app store involved an unnecessary "View" step. Google was also instructed to rectify the banner-style listing for stores like Aptoide, ensuring a more direct path to the app store page.