Epic Games and CEOs have been fighting Apple for the IOS payment process for years, which is some success in Europe, not in the United States. The Fortnite developer is still far from getting everything he really wanted, but he only achieved a huge victory because the US court order has criticized Apple for deliberately ignoring the 2021 order, and even with an Apple executive’s criminal prosecution with an Apple executive.
When Epic began his war with Apple, he wanted to use Apple’s 30 % fee, using his payment processing system in Fortnite at iOS. The epic 2021 trial lost the war, but US courts decided on one point in favor of it: Apple was told that it could not prevent the iOS app developers from directing users to direct websites that use their payment processors.
Since then, Swini has been complaining that Apple has not really done the will of the court, and after reviewing the evidence, the court has come down firmly by the Swanie.
“Apple’s order reacts to the reputation of a restraining tension,” Judge Yun Gonzalez Rogers is written in today’s order. “After two sets of clear hearings, the truth came out. Apple, despite knowing its responsibilities, thwarts the goals of the order, and it continues its contradictory behavior to maintain its income series.”
“We strictly disagree with the PC Gamer in response to a request to comment on the order, an Apple spokesperson told the PC Gamer.” “We will obey the court order and we will appeal.”
Instead of allowing the developers to link to the payment system just in response to the original order, Apple introduced a 27 % commission on payments out of these app. Apple also included “frightened” screens that seem to us to remove users from buying out of the app, in which Swini has also complained about compliance with Apple’s relevant European law.
Epic did not think that Apple was really obeying the order, and there was a clear hearing in 2024, during which Apple was asked to justify its actions. According to today’s order, the court became concerned that Apple was not fully truthful during the hearing, and he asked to prepare documents related to the planning of the stay compliance. Apple stopped, but the second hearing took place earlier this year, and the court did not like what the evidence revealed.
“It is noteworthy that Apple thought that this court would not see this court through its clear cover at the 2024 hearing,” the District Judge wrote, who said that Finance Alex Roman’s Apple VP had “fully lied under the oath”-an issue that he did not say about the territorial US attorney.
In today’s order it is written that Roman’s testimony was “recruited with the wrong direction and a clear lie”. For example, Roman testifies that Apple has not considered it, when combined with a developer’s own payment processing fee, a new 27 % commission developers for the purchase of the app did not have a better option than the app fee. However, documents revealed to the court show that Apple is aware of it.
And the fee itself was a violation of the order at first place. The evidence suggests that Apple’s executive Phil Schiller understood it and opposed the fee, but “Tim Cook ignored Shiller and instead allowed the Chief Financial Officer Luka Mastery and his finance team to be pleased.”
The judge wrote, “Cook made a poor choice.”
After today’s order, Apple will have no benefit, unless it succeeds in appeal, and not only for epic, but also for any developer, not only for the purchase of iOS out of the app.
The order reads, “This is a restriction, not negotiation.” “Once a party deliberately ignores a judicial order, it is of no use. The essence of time is. The court will not tolerate further delay. As the first order was given, Apple will not interfere with the competition. Effectively Apple will not affect the ability to communicate with any kind of users. “
Swini has not yet achieved what he actually wanted – his ability to direct his own payment processor directly into the app – but it has not been on the table in the United States since the original decision of 2021. After this victory, he says he is ready for peace.
“We will return to the USIOS App Store next week,” Swanny Tweed today. “The EPIC has proposed peace: If Apple increases a court -free, Apple tax -free framework worldwide, we will return Fortentite to the App Store worldwide and leave the current and future legalism on this topic.”
