Apple violated App Store reform order, judge rules

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Apple violated a 2021 court order requiring the iPhone maker to open up its App Store to competition, referring the company and a top executive for potential criminal contempt proceedings.

In a scathing 80-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers slammed Apple for thwarting her order, saying the company “continued its anticompetitive conduct solely to maintain its revenue stream.” 

“Remarkably, Apple believed that this Court would not see through its obvious cover-up,” Gonzalez Rogers wrote. 

In the case against Fortnite maker Epic Games, the court largely ruled in Apple’s favor in 2021, finding it was not an “illegal monopolist” but had engaged in anticompetitive behavior. 

The court determined that the 30 percent commission Apple charged on in-app purchases, as well as rules blocking developers from directing users to alternative payment methods to avoid such charges, were anticompetitive. 

In her injunction, Gonzalez Rogers barred Apple from preventing developers from communicating with users about other payment options. 

Apple has since added a 27 percent fee on off-app purchases and new restrictions on how developers can craft external links directing users to payment systems outside the in-app system. It also instituted so-called “scare screens” warning users about external links. 

Gonzalez Rogers reprimanded Apple on Wednesday, suggesting the iPhone maker “willfully chose not to comply” with her order. 

“That it thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation,” she wrote. “As always, the coverup made it worse. For this Court, there is no second bite at the apple.” 

The judge also suggested that the company’s vice president of finance, Alex Roman, had lied under oath, referring the issue to the local district attorney to determine whether to bring criminal contempt charges against Apple and Roman. 

“This is an injunction, not a negotiation,” Gonzalez Rogers added. “There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order. Time is of the essence. The Court will not tolerate further delays. As previously ordered, Apple will not impede competition.” 

Epic Games initially sued Apple in 2020 after it was booted from the App Store for attempting to circumvent the company’s in-app purchase fees. 

The Fortnite maker’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, touted the ruling Wednesday night, calling it “Game over for the Apple Tax.” 

“Apple’s 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe under the Digital Markets Act,” he wrote on X. “Unlawful here, unlawful there.” 

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.