👉 Background: Google, the tech behemoth behind Google Search, Google Maps, Google Mail, Google Drive, also happens to be the owner of Android — the operating system on pretty much every device other than Apple.

👉 What happened: If you're an Android user and want to download an app, you'll need to go through the Google Play Store. But now, a US judge has just ordered Google to open up Google Play to its rivals which means Google:

• Can't pay developers to launch their apps exclusively on Google Play
• Can’t force developers to use Google Play’s billing system
• Can’t block other app stores from being downloaded from within Google’s app store
  

👉 What else: Google has filed an appeal because this could have an enormous impact on its revenue and its share price. In fact, its shares dropped more than 2% on the news, and Apple’s shares also dropped on this news — because the walled garden could be falling.

What's the key learning?

💡A walled garden is a closed platform or ecosystem where the owner of the platform has total control.

💡Apple and Google both created a pretty tight ecosystem across its products but this new decision in the US court may just start to force cracks in the walled garden.

💡For context, Apple and Google both charge between 15-30% commission for purchases on apps, but this new ruling might give developers a way to circumvent these fees. Given Google’s Play Store generated $11.2 billion U.S. dollars in gross revenue just last quarter, this is a major concern for Alphabet and its investors.