- A judge in the Apple/Epic Games trial issued a permanent injunction against Apple today.
- The judge declares that Apple must allow alternative payment methods on the App Store.
- This is a huge win for Epic Games, but also a big threat to Google, which is facing similar charges from Epic.
Today, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers issued a permanent injunction against Apple as part of the ongoing Apple/Epic Games legal battle. The injunction is a huge loss for Apple. If Apple can’t get it removed with an appeal, it would drastically change how the Apple App Store works.
The injunction, which you can read here (via The Verge), states that Apple must allow alternative payment systems for apps it hosts. One of the chief complaints of Epic Games is that Apple forces developers to use Apple’s own payment systems, which thus forces them to share 30% of all profits with Apple. Epic broke Apple’s rules by including an alternative payment system in its hugely popular game Fortnite. That pushed Apple to remove Fortnite from its stores and thus started this whole legal battle.
The judge’s injunction, though, makes it so Apple will need to allow Fortnite — and any other app or game — to use its own payment systems. Theoretically, this would mean Apple would make no money from a game like Fortnite, which is free to play but charges for in-app purchases.
This is a developing story and will see updates…
from Android Authority https://ift.tt/3A5HsUT
