Google has been dealt a major blow. A jury, in what can only be described as a unanimous tech judgment, found that Google’s Play Store practices on Android devices violated antitrust laws. In layman’s terms, Google’s been playing Monopoly, only this isn’t a board game, and there’s no ‘get out of jail free’ card. This legal punch has been delivered courtesy of Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite. Epic accused Google of stifling competition and restricting alternatives to the Play Store, which, mind you, accounts for over 95% of Android app downloads in the US. Epic Games argued their case over 11 questions before the jury, and after three weeks of deliberations and only three hours of final pondering, the jury sided with Epic. Epic Games, living up to their name, celebrated the verdict via a blog post, stating the win as a victory not just for them but for all developers and consumers. “Today’s verdict is a win for all app developers and consumers around the world. It proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation.” What happens now? Now, the case moves to the remedies phase. Here, a judge will decide what changes Google must make. Potential remedies could range from allowing other app stores to be directly downloaded on Android to sharing a greater piece of the app sales revenue pie with developers. Of course, Google, being Google, plans to appeal the verdict. The fun is just…Jury ruling declares Google Play Store violates antitrust laws