Judge Finds Apple in Contempt Over App Store Violations
A U.S. judge has ruled that Apple willfully violated a court order from a 2021 antitrust case brought by Epic Games, escalating the legal battle over App Store competition. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers accused Apple of deliberately obstructing the ruling, which required the tech giant to allow app developers to direct users to outside payment options. In her latest decision, she referred Apple and its VP of Finance, Alex Roman, to federal prosecutors for potential criminal contempt. Roman, she wrote, “outright lied” under oath, and Apple’s actions were “replete with misdirection and outright lies.”
The judge slammed Apple for introducing a new 27% commission on off-app purchases—barely less than its standard 30% cut—and for placing warnings and roadblocks around alternative payment links. Internal company documents showed Apple executives, including CEO Tim Cook, knowingly chose what she called “the most anticompetitive option.” Cook allegedly ignored advice from senior staff to comply with the injunction, and Rogers stated Apple abused legal privilege to hide decision-making processes, even concealing a key 2023 meeting until this year.
Apple said it "strongly disagrees" with the ruling and plans to appeal. Meanwhile, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called it a major win, saying the ruling forces Apple to compete fairly. He also offered Apple a truce if it adopts the court-ordered changes globally, writing, “NO FEES on web transactions. Game over for the Apple Tax.”
