The Supreme Court has rejected Fortnite publisher Epic’s request to make Apple loosen its App Store rules as a legal battle progresses.
As first reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, Justice Elena Kagan declined to vacate a stay on a lower court order about Apple’s anti-steering rules, which limit how iOS app developers can direct users to alternate payment methods.
The district court order was one of Epic’s limited wins in a high-profile antitrust case over iOS App Store in-app purchase fees.
A judge determined that Apple had violated California’s Unfair Competition Law by preventing developers from using links to direct users to payment methods outside the App Store.
Moving payments outside the App Store system lets developers avoid the “Apple tax,” a fee that is levied on digital purchases like Fortnite V-Bucks.
However, Apple has reserved the right to charge a commission separately if developers widely adopt the practice — something it did last year when Dutch regulators required it to open up payment methods for dating apps.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Supreme Court has rejected Fortnite publisher Epic’s request to make Apple loosen its App Store rules as a legal battle progresses.
As first reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, Justice Elena Kagan declined to vacate a stay on a lower court order about Apple’s anti-steering rules, which limit how iOS app developers can direct users to alternate payment methods.
The district court order was one of Epic’s limited wins in a high-profile antitrust case over iOS App Store in-app purchase fees.
A judge determined that Apple had violated California’s Unfair Competition Law by preventing developers from using links to direct users to payment methods outside the App Store.
Moving payments outside the App Store system lets developers avoid the “Apple tax,” a fee that is levied on digital purchases like Fortnite V-Bucks.
However, Apple has reserved the right to charge a commission separately if developers widely adopt the practice — something it did last year when Dutch regulators required it to open up payment methods for dating apps.
I’m a bot and I’m open source!