Apple breached the mandated modifications to its App Store, according to a recent ruling by an American judge.
A Juicy Bite into Apple's Apple-ing for Trouble
Apple has found itself smack in the middle of a hornet's nest, as a federal judge in California ain't letting Big Tech slide. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, in an 80-page ruling, declared Apple's non-compliance with a previous court order as intolerable. This order stemmed from an antitrust lawsuit brought forth by the makers of "Fortnite."
"Apple's persistent attempts to hamper competition in the App Store won't fly," Gonzalez Rogers said, dousing their dreams of escaping punishment. She added, "This isn't a negotiation, this is an injunction. Ignoring a court order won't get you a second chance."
The judge's ire wasn't just reserved for the tech giant; she also referred one of Apple's execs, Alex Roman, vice president of finance, to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation. The judge slammed Roman's testimony, stating it was "laden with misdirection and outright lies."
Apple, in its usual style, expressed dissent, stating, "We strongly disagree with the decision. We'll comply with the court's order, but we'll appeal." Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, called the judge's order a significant victory for developers and consumers. "It forces Apple to compete with other payment services, which was our objective all along," Sweeney said.
Epic Games plans to bring "Fortnite" back to the Apple App Store next week. Apple had yanked Epic's account in 2020, following the company's move to let iPhone users escape Apple's ecosystem for better payment deals.
Epic Games accused Apple of stifling competition for app downloads and overcharging commissions for in-app purchases. Gonzalez Rogers, in 2021, found Apple violated a California competition law and ordered the company to give developers more freedom to direct app users towards other payment options.
In 2020, Apple tried to get the Supreme Court to scrap the injunction, but it failed. In March 2024, Epic Games claimed Apple had blatantly violated the court's order, even imposing a new 27% fee on app developers for transactions outside the App Store. The standard commission for in-App Store purchases is 30%. Apple also allegedly started displaying warning messages to deter non-Apple payments, according to Epic Games, making the new system quasi-usable.
Apple has denied any wrongdoing and, in a court filing, stated it undertook "extensive efforts" to comply with the injunction, while preserving its fundamental business model and safeguarding consumers. However, Gonzalez Rogers suggested at an earlier hearing that these changes made by Apple had no purpose "other than to stifle competition."
In her recent ruling, Gonzalez Rogers prohibited Apple from impeding developers' ability to communicate with users and barred the company from imposing its new commission on off-App Store purchases. She warned Apple not to ask for a pause in her ruling, given the repeated delays and severity of the conduct. The judge didn't take a stance on whether a criminal case should be opened, leaving it to the executive branch to decide on potential charges and penalties.
Enrichment Insights:- The current standoff between Apple and the federal authorities revolves around allegations that Apple violated a court injunction, issued in 2021, which required the company to loosen restrictions on its App Store payment system and allow developers to inform users about third-party payment options.- The judge's language was particularly harsh, suggesting that Apple's behavior not only defied the court's orders but also amounted to lies and deceit in court filings.- The debate between Apple and Epic Games has been ongoing since 2020. Despite Apple winning most of the issues in the case, it lost on the anti-steering injunction that required allowing external payment options. Apple's subsequent compliance measures have been criticized by Epic and the court as bad faith attempts to maintain a high commission rate and discourage the use of third-party payments.- Epic Games filed motions in early 2024 to enforce the injunction, leading to the contempt findings. This development comes after Apple's failure to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the injunction in 2020.- As of May 2025, the court has found Apple in contempt for violating the anti-steering injunction in the Epic Games antitrust case and has requested federal authorities to investigate possible criminal charges against Apple executives for their willful defiance and misleading conduct in court. Apple is appealing but has also stated it will comply with the order for now.
- Apple's financial vice president, Alex Roman, currently faces a criminal contempt investigation by federal prosecutors, due to his perceived misleading testimony in relation to the company's App Store payment system.
- In 2024, Epic Games accused Apple of breaching a court order by imposing a 27% fee on app developers for transactions outside the App Store, while the standard commission rate for in-App Store purchases is 30%.
- Business rivalry between technology giants escalated in 2020, when Epic Games accused Apple of stifling competition in app downloads and overcharging commissions for in-app purchases.
- Following the federal judge's ruling, Apple was ordered to stop hindering developers' ability to communicate with users and barred from imposing its new commission on off-App Store purchases, set to compete with other payment services in the digital marketplace.
