- By Prateek Levi
- Thu, 01 May 2025 01:35 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
It seems like Apple's control over its app ecosystem might be coming to an end. According to a ruling by a federal judge, Apple immediately needs to stop charging commissions on purchases that are made outside its App Store. This is a major setback for the Cupertino-based tech giant, which has enjoyed a monopoly over such transactions. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple had "wilfully violated" her 2021 injunction in its ongoing legal fight with Epic Games. In her 80-page decision, she stated, "Apple's continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated." She also referred the matter to US attorneys to consider possible criminal contempt charges against Apple and one of its executives.
Epic Games was particularly celebrating this as a win, with its CEO Tim Sweeney declaring on social media, "NO FEES on web transactions. Game over for the Apple Tax. Apple's 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe."
The ruling by the federal judge bans Apple from levying or imposing "any commission or any fee on purchases that consumers make outside an app" and has also restricted the tech giant from blocking developers' link placements for external purchases.
In her ruling, Judge Gonzalez Rogers stated that Apple’s Vice President of Finance, Alex Roman, had "outright lied" under oath about the company's decision to introduce a 27% commission on purchases made through web links.
"This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party wilfully disregards a court order," she wrote, stressing that "time is of the essence."
Apple responded with a statement: "We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court's order, and we will appeal."
A “peace proposal” by Epic's CEO
After the ruling, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced that Fortnite would be coming back to the iOS App Store "next week", marking its comeback since being removed in 2020 when the legal battle first began.
"It's a huge victory for developers," Sweeney said. "This means all developers can offer both Apple's payment service side by side with their own payment service."
Sweeney also reached out to Apple with a proposal for reconciliation: "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."