United States: Apple has been found in contempt of court for willfully violating an injunction stemming from its high-profile legal battle with Epic Games.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple defied the court’s order designed to curb anti-competitive behaviour in the App Store and referred the matter to federal prosecutors for possible criminal contempt proceedings.
The original injunction, issued in 2021 following a lawsuit by Fortnite creator Epic Games, prohibited Apple from blocking developers from directing users to third-party payment options. Epic had accused Apple of running a monopolistic App Store and taking an excessive cut of up to 30 percent of in-app purchases.
In her latest order, Judge Gonzalez Rogers stated that Apple’s conduct since the ruling has interfered with competition and would not be tolerated. She conveyed that, Apple intentionally chose the most anti-competitive option at every turn, citing internal documents that showed top executives were aware of the non-compliance.
The judge was especially critical of Apple’s leadership, noting that CEO Tim Cook ignored advice from senior executive Phillip Schiller to follow the court’s order.
In a striking statement, the judge also said Apple’s vice president of finance, Alex Roman, outright lied under oath during court proceedings.
One key example cited in the ruling involved Apple imposing a new 27 percent fee on purchases made outside its App Store, a workaround the court said violated the spirit of the injunction. Additional measures were also put in place to deter customers from using alternative payment systems.
Apple responded that, “We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal.” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney responded swiftly on social media, announcing that Fortnite will return to the US iOS App Store next week. He also offered a truce if Apple adopts the court-ordered framework worldwide.
Sweeney stated that, “Epic puts forth a peace proposal: if Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic.”
The ruling marks another major blow for Apple’s App Store policies, which are already facing scrutiny under Europe’s Digital Markets Act.
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