U.S. Judge Finds Apple in Violation of Order to Revamp App Store Practices

A U.S. District Judge in California has ruled that Apple violated a court order mandating increased competition for app downloads and payment methods in its App Store. This decision will lead to a referral of Apple and one of its executives, Alex Roman, to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated that Apple’s failure to comply with her prior injunction order, connected to an antitrust lawsuit by Epic Games, was unacceptable. In her ruling, Judge Gonzalez Rogers expressed that Apple’s attempts to interfere with competition would not be tolerated, asserting that the injunction was a definitive order, not open to negotiation.

Notably, Roman’s testimony about Apple’s compliance efforts was deemed misleading. In response, Apple expressed strong disagreement with the ruling and confirmed plans to appeal while stating an intention to comply with the court’s decision.

Epic Games’ CEO, Tim Sweeney, described the ruling as a significant victory for both developers and consumers, emphasizing that it compels Apple to compete with other payment services. He indicated that Epic Games plans to seek reinstatement of Fortnite on the Apple App Store following its removal after the company allowed users to access external payment options.

Gonzalez Rogers previously found that Apple had infringed upon California competition laws in 2021, leading to her order allowing developers more freedom in directing users to alternative payment options. The judge outlined that Apple must not obstruct developers from communicating with users and cannot impose a new commission on purchases made outside the App Store.

Ultimately, she noted that the enforcement of these measures was necessary to deter future violations.