About the only thing Google is right to be concerned about here is the timeline to enforce these changes - requiring them to be implemented within a couple of weeks does indeed pose a risk that something will go wrong or be missed (causing vulnerabilities). Other than that, I look forward to Google being forced to allow competition.
Years ago it was “Don’t be evil”. Now it’s “Dont be evil(TM)(1)(2)”
(1) it is okay to be evil if the profit would be outrageous
(2) if it’s questionable, we ignore the evaluation to see how much profit it generates first
The timeline is absolutely ridiculous considering the scale at which Google play operates. However I otherwise don't feel a bit sorry for them. It's probably a foreign experience to most of the Google team to have a competitive challenge and if they are up to it they'll be fine. If not, I guess that's the free market at work...
(Also, is it Epics entire business model to just sue their way into relevance? I'm happy to see the big tech firms squeal but seriously it's like Epic wants their entire brand to be about suing competitors.)
This wouldn’t just hurt Google – this would have negative consequences for Android users
Oh please, as if Android users don't sideload apps all the time. It's like the number one reason to get an Android phone over an iPhone is that you can sideload apps onto it relatively easily.