A US judge’s decision Apple broke the App Store reform order.
A federal judge in California determined Wednesday that Apple would be transferred to federal prosecutors for violating a US court ruling that compelled the iPhone manufacturer to let more competition for software downloads and payment methods in its profitable App Store.
In an 80-page decision, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of Oakland declared that Apple had not complied with her previous injunction order, which was imposed in an antitrust case filed by Epic Games, the company that makes “Fortnite.”
Gonzalez Rogers declared, “Apple’s persistent attempts to stifle competition will not be tolerated.” “This is an injunction, not a negotiation,” she continued. Once a party knowingly disobeys a court order, there are no second chances.
Gonzalez Rogers stated that she will send Apple to federal prosecutors to have its actions in the case investigated for criminal contempt.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by Epic or Apple.
Apple was accused by Epic of overcharging for in-app purchases and suppressing competition for app downloads.
In 2021, Gonzalez Rogers determined that Apple had broken a California competition statute and mandated that the corporation provide developers more latitude in referring app customers to alternative payment methods.
Last year, Apple was unable to convince the US Supreme Court to overturn the order.
In March 2024, Epic Games informed the court that Apple was “blatantly” breaking the court’s ruling, such as by charging app developers a new 27% fee when Apple users buy apps from sources other than the App Store. For purchases made through the App Store, Apple charges developers a 30% commission fee.
Epic Games claimed that Apple’s new approach was “commercially unusable” and that the company has started displaying warnings alerting users to the possible risks of external links to discourage non-Apple payments.
Apple has refuted any misconduct. Gonzalez Rogers was informed by the corporation in a March 7 court document that it made “huge efforts” to adhere to the order while preserving the fundamental features of Apple’s business model and safeguarding consumers.”
At a previous hearing, Gonzalez Rogers argued that Apple’s modifications to the App Store served no function “other than to stifle competition.”
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