Apple has been found in violation of a U.S. court order that mandates greater competition in its App Store, leading to a referral to federal prosecutors by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. This ruling followed an antitrust lawsuit from Epic Games, the maker of “Fortnite,” which accused Apple of stifling competition for app downloads and inflating commissions for in-app purchases.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers’s ruling, contained in an 80-page document, criticized Apple for willfully disregarding her prior injunction, stating: “This is an injunction, not a negotiation.” She referred Apple and Alex Roman, the company’s vice president of finance, for criminal contempt investigations due to misleading testimony regarding compliance with the court order.
In response, Apple expressed disagreement with the ruling and announced plans to appeal. Epic Games’ CEO, Tim Sweeney, hailed the decision as a significant victory for developers and consumers, emphasizing that it compels Apple to allow competition with other payment services. He indicated that Epic would seek to reinstate Fortnite on the Apple App Store, which had been removed following Epic’s attempt to circumvent Apple’s payment system.
Previously, in 2021, Judge Gonzalez Rogers had determined that Apple violated California competition laws and mandated that developers should have more freedom to direct app users to alternative payment methods. Epic Games recently reported that Apple was blatantly violating the court order, including introducing a 27% fee for purchases made outside the App Store and warning users against external payment links.
The judge’s latest ruling bars Apple from hindering developer communications with users and prohibits the new commission for off-app purchases. She stated that any further decisions regarding criminal prosecution would fall to federal authorities.
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