A significant milestone in the legal battle between Apple and Epic Games saw the highest court in the United States reject a law passed last year, forcing Apple to allow developers to offer alternative payment methods within apps.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple deliberately defied the court order and attempted to manipulate the intent of this order by introducing a new format for App Store commission fees afterwards, limiting platform access to retain a significant income stream for Apple in the future.
Court documents also revealed that Apple’s finance vice president, Alex Roman, intentionally misled the court, even though high-level executive Phil Schiller proposed compliance with the court’s guidelines. Both CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri opted to ignore this order.
The court then instructed Apple to cease collecting a 27% fee for payments made outside the App Store and to stop imposing conditions on developers to suggest alternative payment methods within the app. The court cited Apple’s new terms as problematic, such as full-screen notifications when users exit the app to make a payment, requiring a static link for verification, and implementing a policy for collecting fees outside the App Store.
This court order prompted Epic CEO Tim Sweeney to declare victory as the end of the “Apple Tax” in the United States, mirroring similar outcomes in Europe.
Source: 9to5Mac
TLDR: The US court ruled in favor of Epic Games, compelling Apple to allow alternative payment methods in apps and restrict excessive fees, marking the end of the “Apple Tax” in the United States.
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