Apple Under Fire: Epic Trial Exposes App Store Noncompliance

May 1, 2025, 8:20 am

The legal battle between Apple and Epic Games heats up as a federal judge lambasts Apple for failing to comply with mandated App Store reforms. In separate rulings, the court highlighted deliberate falsehoods about its 27% commission fee, setting the stage for potential further legal and regulatory backlash.

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Apple Faces Judicial Wrath: Noncompliance & Lies

techdirt.com / Judge In Apple / Epic Case Is Spitting Mad At Apple’s Willful Contempt

Back in 2021, Apple mostly won the antitrust case that Epic brought against it, and the Ninth Circuit largely agreed. The court rejected most claims about Apple’s App Store being an illegal monopoly. The company just had to make one small change: let developers tell users they could make purchases…

gizmodo.com / Federal Judge Hits Apple Exec With Criminal Referral Over ‘Obvious Lies’

Now, Apple and top executive, Alex Roman, have been referred for criminal contempt proceedings.

techcrunch.com / Read the juiciest bits from the court ruling against Apple over its anticompetitive App Store practices

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is pissed off at Apple. Really, really pissed off. In Rogers’ newly released 80-page decision, she took Apple and its executives to task for defying the court’s orders in its original case with Fortnite maker Epic Games. Though Apple largely won that round, as it was…

appleinsider.com / Epic vs. Apple: What Apple is being forced to do to the App Store

Following the ruling that Apple has willfully violated the anti-steering aspect of the Epic vs Apple trial, the company must make specific changes to the App Store. Here's what it must immediately do, and what this all means for Apple, developers, and users.App Store icon on an iPhoneApple won the…

appleinsider.com / Epic Games vs Apple -- The continuing App Store saga

The Epic Games "Fortnite" versus Apple's AppStore antitrust trial has completed its last week. Here's what you need to know about the saga, with closing arguments left to go. Between Epic CEO Tim Sweeney's ongoing complaints, the trial, and Apple's lies, the Epic vs. Apple App Store lawsuit…

appleinsider.com / Apple lied under oath in Epic Games trial, may face criminal contempt charges

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has ruled that an Apple executive willfully lied to the court and attorneys did not correct those lies about Apple's 27% commission fee in the company's high-profile legal fight against Epic Games.The Fortnite battle continues to roll on for Apple - Image Credit: Epic…

theverge.com / ‘Cook chose poorly’: how Apple blew up its control over the App Store

In 2021, a federal judge ruled that Apple had to loosen its grip, ever so slightly, on the App Store. On Wednesday, nearly four years later, that same judge found that Apple deliberately failed to do so and tried to hide its noncompliance in the process. In a furious opinion, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez…

Epic Launches Developer Alternatives: Bypassing App Store Fees

appleinsider.com / Epic Games Store Webshops launches to help iOS developers offer out-of-app purchases

Following Apple's sanctioning for violating an injunction to remove anti-steering measures, Epic Games is launching Webshops to make it easier for third-party developers to handle out-of-app purchases for iOS apps.The Epic Games Store is available in the EU. Epic is seemingly having a very good…

theverge.com / Epic is offering developers an alternative to Apple’s in-app purchases

Epic Games is making some big changes to its store to provide an enticing alternative to Apple’s in-app purchases for developers. The company is announcing the changes less than a day after a major court ruling that mandates that Apple can’t collect fees on purchases made outside of apps or…

techcrunch.com / Epic Games is launching webshops to allow developers to circumvent app store fees after new ruling

Epic Games is taking a victory lap. After notching a big win against Apple in a years-long legal dispute, Epic announced that its Epic Games Store will allow developers to open webshops, which can offer players out-of-app purchases to circumvent fees from Apple and Google. Epic has been in a long…

macrumors.com / Epic Games Setting Up Webshops for iOS Developers to Offer Users Out-of-App Purchases

Epic Games today announced plans for ‌Epic Games‌ Store Webshops, a feature that will allow developers to launch digital storefronts that are hosted by the ‌Epic Games‌ Store. With Apple's mandated App Store rule changes in the United States, developers will soon be able to direct customers to web…

Fortnite's Return: Gaming Icon Reclaims iOS

techcrunch.com / Fortnite plans return to the US iOS App Store next week

Epic Games’ mega-popular Fortnite is returning to the US iOS App Store next week after a surprising ruling in a years-long legal battle with Apple. The dispute between Epic and Apple began in 2020, when Apple removed Epic Games from the iOS store. Because Apple takes 30% of all in-app purchases,…

gamespot.com / Fortnite Returning To US iOS Soon After Judge Slams Apple For "Insubordination"

Since 2020, Epic Games and Apple have been engaged in a legal battle over Apple's use of the App Store. The initial ruling came in 2021, and after a bout of appeals, Apple declared "resounding victory" in April 2023. It seems that declaration may have been hasty, as the judge in the case has filed…

Lobbying Moves: Tech Rivals United Against Platform Dominance

theverge.com / Meta and Spotify are teaming up to lobby against Apple and Google

Meta has joined forces with Spotify, Garmin, Match, and others to form a lobby group to represent their interests, especially as they come into conflict with those of Apple and Google. The group’s first order of business is arguing that age verification should be the responsibility of app stores,…

kotaku.com / Judge Says Apple Exec Lied In Big Fortnite Case And Just Blew The App Store Wide Open

Epic Games v. Apple judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has ruled that, effective immediately, Apple can no longer take a cut from purchases made outside apps and has blocked the tech giant from restricting how developers can point people to third-party payment options. The judge was also not happy that…

winbuzzer.com / Epic Games Store Rolls Out 0% Fee Tier, Webshops Following Apple’s Court Defeat

Epic Games has detailed new store features including webshops and a 0% fee tier up to $1M, enabled by a court ruling against Apple's App Store restrictions. The post Epic Games Store Rolls Out 0% Fee Tier, Webshops Following Apple’s Court Defeat appeared first on WinBuzzer.

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