A U.S. judge on Wednesday accused Apple of failing to comply US Judge Says
with an order to loosen its grip on the App Store’s payment system to an extent that could lead to criminal charges.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez russia mobile database Rogers ruled that Apple “willfully” violated an injunction it had secured during the trial,
instead creating new barriers to competition from the App Store and even lying to the court during the process.
“That the court thought it would tolerate such noncompliance was a grave error,” Gonzalez Rogers said in a ruling allowing Epic Games to enforce the injunction against Apple.
“As always, the withholding of information only made matters worse
There is no second chance for this court.” US Judge Says
Fortnite maker Epic filed a lawsuit in 2021 seeking to loosen
Apple’s grip on the App Store, accusing the iPhone maker of acting like a media as part of an monopoly in its digital goods and services marketplace.
After the trial, Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple’s control of the App Store was not a monopoly,
but that the company must allow developers to include links
to other online marketplaces to buy content or services.
The judge also found
At the time that the 30% commission Apple takes on App Store sales allowed it to earn “supra-competitive operating margins,” which the injunction found was anti-competitive.
Apple’s response to the injunction included trust review charging a commission
on purchases made through links from its app store, the judge said.
The judge found that Apple had also imposed new barriers and new requirements,
including “scare screens,” to discourage people from making digital purchases outside the App Store.
“Ultimately, Apple attempted US Judge Says
To preserve a billion-dollar revenue stream by directly violating the court’s order,”
Gonzalez Rogers said in the ruling.
“Contrary to Apple’s initial court testimony, current business records show that Apple knew exactly what it was doing and chose the least competitive option at every turn.”