A US federal judge on Friday struck down some of Apple Inc.’s App Store rules, allowing the company to send its users to other payment systems for developers in a partial victory for “Fortnite” maker Epic Games and other app makers. was forced to give.
But the judge did not require Apple to allow app makers to use its in-app payment system, one of Epic’s top requests, and gave Apple a 15% to 30% commission for its in-app payment system. Allowed to continue charging.
Epic said it would appeal the ruling, with CEO Tim Sweeney tweeting that the ruling is “not a win for developers or consumers.”
The result left Apple’s critics and rivals saying they are more likely to turn to legislators rather than the courts to push for the changes they want.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers described her decision as requiring a “measured” change to Apple’s rules. Analysts said the impact could largely depend on how the iPhone maker implements the decision.
Apple shares fell 3.2% on Friday afternoon, but several Wall Street analysts maintained their long-term favorable outlook on the iPhone maker.
“We suspect that the impact can be controlled,” Amit Daryani, analyst at Evercore ISI, said in a note to investors.
The ruling extends a concession granted last week to streaming video companies to direct users to external payment methods. The decision extends that exemption to all developers, including game developers, the biggest cash generator for Apple’s App Store, which itself is the foundation of its $53.8 billion services segment.
The judge ruled that Apple could no longer prevent developers from providing buttons or links in its apps that direct customers to other ways to pay outside of Apple’s own in-app purchase system. The ruling also said that Apple cannot prohibit developers from communicating with customers through contact information received by developers when they sign up within the app.
The decision comes after a three-week trial in May before Gonzalez Rogers of the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
Gonzalez Rogers blocked Epic from granting some of its other wishes, such as forcing Apple to open up the iPhone to third-party App Stores.
Apple said in a statement: “Success is not illegal as the court held. Apple faces stiff competition in every segment in which we do business, and we believe customers and developers choose us because our The products and services are the best in the world.
In a media briefing, Apple’s legal team said it does not believe the ruling allows it to allow developers to implement their own in-app purchase system. Apple executives said the company is still debating how it will implement the ruling’s requirements and whether it will appeal.
The judge sided with Apple on important questions such as defining the relevant antitrust market as a gaming transaction, rejecting Epic’s argument that the iPhone is its own app market that Apple has a monopoly on.
Epic CEO Sweeney said on Twitter, “Epic is fighting for a billion consumers to have fair competition between in-app payment methods and the App Store. We will fight.”
The Epic lawsuit began when the game maker put its in-app payment system in “Fortnite.”
potential for more challenges
The challenges to Apple’s App Store regulations aren’t over. Friday’s ruling suggests they are more likely to play in state homes and capitals than on the courts.
Lawmakers in the United States and Europe are considering bills that would force Apple to allow third-party in-app payment systems, and South Korea’s parliament has already passed such a law.
“Today’s ruling also makes clear that outdated antitrust laws cannot be decided solely by the courts,” Match Group, which has challenged Apple’s practices in Europe and owner of the popular dating app Tinder, said in a statement. This will only end when we bring our laws into the digital age, as South Korea did last week.”
US Congressional lawmakers said the verdict showed that courts alone would not address their concerns.
While Gonzalez Rogers did not find that Apple is a monopolist, he did find that the test showed that Apple was in violation of California state competition and showed some “preliminary antitrust violations” that required a nationwide remedy.
John Newman, a professor of law at the University of Miami, said the ruling leaves open avenues for US regulators to challenge Apple in court. Reuters has previously reported that the US Department of Justice is investigating the iPhone maker.
The orders follow Apple’s agreement last week https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-says-japan-fair-trade-commission-closes-app-store-investigation-2021-09-02 Japan Fair Trade With commission, whereby it eases rules for “reader” apps like Netflix Inc. to provide customers with a link to sign up for a paid account outside of the app. Games are a big part of Apple’s sales.
But whether the ruling eats into that revenue depends on how Apple implements the changes.
“To some extent, Apple can make it so that its in-app payments are still the easiest to use,” said Ben Bajarin, Head of Consumer Technologies at Creative Strategies.
Shares of Alphabet Inc., whose Google unit operates an app store for Android smartphones and which Epic is also suing over antitrust charges, were down 1.7% late Friday.
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
read all breaking news, breaking news And coronavirus news Here