Apple Asks U.S. Court To Pause Judge’s Ruling in Epic Games Case
Apple is pushing back hard against a recent court decision that cracks down on how it controls payments in its App Store. After being found in contempt for not fully complying with a 2021 injunction, Apple filed an emergency motion asking the Ninth Circuit to pause the latest order, saying the changes would cause “substantial harm” and force the company to “permanently give away free access to its products and services.”
The ruling, issued by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, bans Apple from charging a 27% fee on purchases made through links outside its App Store and stops it from controlling how developers place those links. The judge said Apple’s actions defied her original order and even referred the company and a top executive to federal prosecutors, claiming Apple misled the court and that VP Alex Roman “outright lied under oath.”
Apple insists it has followed the rules and plans to appeal, but Epic Games isn’t buying it, calling Apple’s latest move a “last ditch effort to block competition” and claiming the changes have already led to “better deals and better consumer choice.” As more developers update their apps to bypass Apple’s fees, the pressure is mounting on the tech giant to open up.
