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The News: U.S. Supreme Court denies appeals by Apple and Epic to reject an Antitrust Case -

Jan 28, 2024

On Tuesday, January 16 on the 16th of January, the U.S. Supreme Court denied requests to hear appeals by both Apple along with Epic Games in connection with the antitrust suit Epic brought against Apple in 2020. Reuters reported.

In 2021, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed the vast majority of Epic's accusations against Apple however she did rule against Epic's policy of not using customers who are not Apple's to purchase digital goods. In 2023 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed with much of Judge Rogers 2021 ruling.

What is the way Apple Is Responding

According to Associated Press reported that this removes the hold of the order, which gives developers greater freedom to utilize other payment options. Apple has also provided court documents late on the 16th of January that outline its plans to be in compliance with the ruling while retaining the vast majority of its fees.

AP reported that Apple's court filing will:

  • Developers can make use of hyperlinks to sites that connect to external websites. However, Apple continues to charge 12% to 27 percentage commission fees for payments through links to other websites.
  • Alert consumers via the "scare screen" when they click on the link which leads the user to an alternative payment method, notifying them that Apple is not responsible for any obligation to the purchase regarding security or privacy.
  • Institute to approve a process that AP claims is "potentially challenging" before allowing externally-pointing buttons or links to show inside iPhone or iPad apps, citing Apple's "effort to limit the risk of fraud, scams and misinformation."

 How Epic Games Are Insisting

AP reported that the paper outlining the above plans "provoked assertions that Apple did not act in good faith, and sets the stage for more dispute over legality," apparently quoting Epic Games Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney's X (formerly called Twitter) tweet that reads "Apple submitted a false 'compliance plan' to get the order of the District Court."

Sweeney later outlined the list of "glaring issues we've discovered to date," concluding with " Epic is going to contest Apple's compliance program with a bad motive at District Court" and as in addition to uploading a photo of the "scare screens" Apple has included in the Developer Support update for hyperlinks to purchase from outside.

In the morning on Tuesday, Sweeney had posted mixed opinions, noting that there was an "shocking" decision by the Supreme Court choosing not to hear appeals in this instance was "A terrible outcome for everyone developers" but he pointed out it was a "great opportunity" for developers to " developers can begin making use of their rights as considered by the courts to provide US customers about lower rates on the internet."

Extra Epic Games v. Apple Case Developments

The 17th of January, Reuters reported that Apple was also asking the judge to make Epic Games pay them over $73 million in legal fees as well as other charges. Reuters says that Apple's request is based on "a lower court ruling in which it was found that Epic Games breached a developer agreement that it had made in the year 2010" wherein "Epic was required to pay for the costs of legal, losses, and other expenses resulting from any violation."

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