The court suspended enforcement of the injunction until it was able to hear the case in its entirety, which could take several months. As the court considers Apple`s appeal, Apple will be able to operate the App Store as is. In mid-2020, Sweeney reiterated his position on cutting Apple and Google`s revenue by 30 percent ahead of a major U.S. Congressional hearing to investigate antitrust allegations against big tech companies, including Google, and similar investigations conducted by Apple in the European Union. [9] Sweeney said in an interview with CNBC in July that ”Apple has locked down and crippled the ecosystem by inventing an absolute monopoly on software distribution, on software monetization,” and that ”Google is essentially deliberately suffocating competing companies by having barriers and barriers to the user interface.” [10] Sweeney went on to explain, ”If each developer could accept their own payments and avoid the 30% tax from Apple and Google, we could pass the savings on to all our consumers and gamers would get a better deal on items. And they would have economic competition. [10] After Apple stated that cloud gaming services like Microsoft`s xCloud were not allowed on the iOS platform because they would allow content that bypassed Apple`s content review, Sweeney wrote, ”Apple has banned the Metaverse. The principle, which they take literally, would exclude all cross-platform ecosystems and games with user-created modes: not only xCloud, Stadia and GeForce NOW, but also Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox. [11] ”Today`s decision is not a victory for developers or consumers,” tweeted Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, adding that his company is fighting for ”fair competition between in-app payment methods and app stores.” On October 8, 2020, Microsoft announced a commitment to ten principles of fairness in the operation of its Microsoft Store on Windows 10, which included promises of transparency on its policies not to prevent the use of competing app stores on Windows and not to remove apps from Windows based on their business model, how they manage payments or how their services are provided. [43] In a statement, Apple echoed part of Gonzalez Rogers` 185-page judgment. It had stated that the ”relevant market” in the case was mobile digital gambling transactions. And in this market, she concluded, Apple has no monopoly power over the many other competitors, noting that ”success is not illegal.” It`s unclear exactly how Apple will rewrite its rules to comply with the court`s decision if it is unable to convince the court to grant its request.

When South Korea enacted a new law that also required app stores to allow other payment mechanisms, Google followed suit by adjusting fees, but Apple said its current policies were compliant because of the way the law was written. Apple`s victory today means we`ll have to wait a few more months for the legal process to be completed before implementing any changes in the App Store. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a permanent injunction in Epic v. The Apple case Friday morning that imposes new restrictions on Apple`s App Store rules and ends months of bitter legal battles. Gonzalez Rogers explained that Apple is breaking the law by denying consumers access to other payment methods. She wrote that Apple`s policies ”hide critical information from consumers and illegally stifle consumer choice.” In addition to what she called the tech giant`s ”nascent antitrust violations,” she ordered Apple to make changes within 90 days. Epic immediately filed separate lawsuits against Apple and Google for antitrust and anti-competitive behavior in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. [15] Epic has retained the services of Christine A.`s legal counsel. Varney, former head of the US antitrust division The main argument against this is: ”Smartphone markers can do whatever they want.” It`s a terrible idea. We all have rights, and we must fight to defend our rights against anyone who denies them.

[20] In the renegotiations, both Epic and Apple argued that the case should be pursued through judge hearings rather than jury trials. [34] Justice Rodgers agreed and scheduled a trial in May 2021. [35] After this planning, Justice Rogers refused to give Epic Games an injunction to compel Apple to allow Fortnite in its current state (with Epic`s storefront), but issued the injunction that prevented Apple from terminating Epic`s developer accounts so that it could continue to maintain the Unreal engine for iOS and macOS systems. [36] In its decision, Rodgers explained that a key aspect of its review of the case will be Epic`s assertion that the App Store is unique and its arguments as to why Apple`s antitrust behavior is limited to the App Store rather than other closed systems such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Store or Nintendo eShop. .