A recent ruling from a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous decision regarding Apple’s App Store policies in an ongoing antitrust dispute with Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite. In this ruling, the judges affirmed that Apple failed to comply with a 2021 order from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers that allowed app developers to link to external payment options. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney stated that this decision is significant for developers.
The court’s ruling primarily directs Gonzalez Rogers to explore reasonable fees that Apple could impose for transactions initiated from external links. Earlier, Gonzalez Rogers had restricted Apple from charging any fees for these transactions, commenting on the excessive 27% fee Apple had initially imposed on external payments.
The appeals court noted that Apple may charge fees related to the coordination of external links, as long as these costs are genuinely reasonable. However, Sweeney argued that he sees no justification for a percentage of developer revenue being assessed. He indicated that reasonable fees for custom linkouts during app reviews could be acceptable.
In the wake of the April ruling, Fortnite has re-entered the US App Store after nearly five years, following its removal due to Epic’s introduction of an in-app purchase system. Furthermore, global regulatory efforts, like the Digital Markets Act in Europe, are pushing for the ability to use third-party app stores on iOS.
Sweeney expressed concern regarding Apple, suggesting the company has maintained its fee structure until legally obligated to change. He anticipates that the Ninth Circuit’s decision may influence global regulatory actions, questioning why any country would allow Apple to impose fees found illegal in the U.S. Additionally, on the same day, Fortnite returned to Google Play in the U.S. after a settlement between Epic Games and Google addressed their prior legal disputes.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/843265/apple-epic-games-tim-sweeney-interview