Judge Rules That Apple Can No longer Be Allowed to Force Developers to Use In-App Purchasing
Posted on 09/10/2021
Epic Games, Inc., the maker of the game Fortnite, won in a major court case watched by Silicon Valley. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued an injunction that said that Apple Inc. will no longer be allowed to prohibit developers from providing links or other communications that direct users away from Apple in-app purchasing. Apple takes 15% to 30% of gross sales for in-app purchasing. The ruling will likely impact the profitability of Apple’s App Store sales. Developers could have the chance to direct their uses to their website to subscribe or purchase digital content. Apple won on 9 of 10 counts but was found to engage in anticompetitive conduct under California state law. Epic Games was not seeking money from Apple. Epic Games wanted to be allowed to install its own app store on iPhones to bypass the fees.
“The Court concludes that Apple’s anti-steering provisions hide critical information from consumers and illegally stifle consumer choice,” Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers wrote. “When coupled with Apple’s incipient antitrust violations, these anti-steering provisions are anticompetitive and a nationwide remedy to eliminate those provisions is warranted.”
She added that Apple was not a monopolist and “success is not illegal.”
“Given the trial record, the Court cannot ultimately conclude that Apple is a monopolist under either federal or state antitrust laws,” Rogers wrote.
The case is Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc.
