Latest News U.S. Federal Judges in Epic Games Contest Whether Apple Has Complied With The Order to Allow the application of payment steering
A hearing of the evidence presented in the Epic Games v. Apple trial is focusing on the question of whether Apple actually complies with its obligations under U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' order which allowed app developers in the hope of "steer" users to use alternative payment options that are not available in the App Store's native App Store.
Hearings on the evidence regarding Apple's subsequent compliance began on the 8th of May. AP says that Judge Gonzalez Rogers " questioned whether Apple has set up high-stakes obstacles in order to deter users the use of other payment methods for iPhone apps" in spite of a court's direction.
Hearing focused on whether Apple Policy is Still Anti-Steering
The AP article further explains the judge Gonzalez Rogers' tone suggested Apple's policy has mostly focused in protecting the company's profits rather than submitting with intent to use her choice to permit the direction of consumers as well as to enhance iPhone users' ability to switch easily to other options for payment through the app. The piece explains that in the Epic document, Apple is still blocking the developers from directing consumers towards other payment methods that offer cheaper pricing options.
The AP report goes on to state that as part of the hearing, Apple Chief Executive Officer in charge of the iPhone App Store, Matthew Fischer said that Apple had only accepted and approved applications for 38 applications that show links to different payments systems, "a fraction of the approximately two million iPhone apps available in the U.S."
PC Mag points out that the low number of apps that offer in-app purchases -- just 38 of the 65,000 app developers who offer in-app purchase- is likely due to the cost due to the 27 percent Apple charges plus the cost of the fees charged by credit cards would likely lead to a greater price for app developers overall.
Apple Executive 'Unaware' of the higher cost issue
The LAW360 article that was published on Friday, May 10 recounts the events that occurred when Epic lawyer Yonatan Even, along with Judge Gonzalez Rogers questioned Apple Finance Vice President Alex Roman. Even mentioned the reduced price of 3% which is provided by Apple -- that's 27 percent on transactions made outside an app on Apple devices as compared the standard 30 percent fee and Epic has also presented evidence to show that the typical cost of processing payments in the U.S. is 3.5% and includes a yoga application CEO who testified that the company pays 3.5 percentage to 6.5 per cent fees for payments processing. Following the incident, Roman declared that he wasn't aware of this, Even reiterated that the intent was to introduce a fee that would allow firms to provide users with a lower price. They then inquired of Roman whether he was aware of that. The judge Gonzalez Rogers is quoted as saying to Roman that "'It appears that you have a tendency to take choices with no information or information in mind,' she said. "It appears to me like the intention was to preserve ... the amount of income that you previously.'" Access the LAW360 report by clicking here.
I'm pleased to the Judge side with Epic
The CEO David Nachman states that "We're happy to see that the judge has sided in favor of Epic in this matter. We're hopeful that the judge will require Apple to let steering be allowed to game developers and app developers without any fees or restrictions. Our goal is to allow worldwide commerce for developers of digital and software products which is why we're joined by our customers in embracing this move towards an open and welcoming commerce experience for mobile."
Additional Antitrust Act against Apple launched by US Justice Department
In addition to the Epic Games matter, there is also the case of Epic Games. U.S. Justice Department launched an antitrust case against Apple during the month of March 2024, alleging that Apple has monopoly power in the market for mobile phones which includes (among several other areas) on the subject of electronic payments.
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