After years of legal battles, Apple is finally opening its App Store to outside payment processors, albeit at a steep cost for app developers who want to cash in on this new opportunity.
Apple’s rule changes for its app market revealed in a statement Legal filing On Tuesday, it was revealed that app makers will be allowed to link to an external payment processor of their choice if they Pay Apple a 27% commission For the fun of doing it. The developers were naturally angry.
Apple app policy changes due to A long and arduous legal battle Its dispute with Epic Games began back in 2020, when Epic sued the company and accused it of “anti-competitive conduct.”
The lawsuit was largely triggered by Apple’s controversial “walled garden” approach to apps.Historically, Apple has required all in-app purchases to be made through its own payment system and charged a 30% fee committee Application developers do this. The huge sum is the price of entry into Apple’s popular market, which gives the company direct access to millions of iPhone and iOS users. In 2020, Epic has a problem try to circumvent Collect commissions by launching your own in-app payment system fort nightvirtual currency, V-Bucks. Therefore, Epic and therefore, fort night, Kicked out of the App Store.This is a problem for Epic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is fort night It is its largest source of money.
epic Then sued Apple, claiming that its app store constitutes a “monopoly” and engages in anti-competitive behavior. For three years, the lawsuit made its way through the U.S. judicial system, eventually reaching the Supreme Court.This week, the Supreme Court refuse to hear the casemeaning it was kicked back to the last stop of the judicial circuit for judgment.
The previous decision in the case was handed down by Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District Court for Northern California. 2021, Rogers The ruling largely favors Apple, but found that the company’s policy of prohibiting app users from accessing alternative payment processors was anti-competitive. As a result of Rogers’ ruling, Apple was forced to implement changes that took effect this week, including allowing developers to direct app users to third-party payment processors.
However, even though Apple now allows app developers to link to external payment methods, the company still charges app developers a hefty 27% fee if they want to link to an external payment system of their choice. The developers are naturally unhappy.In trying to use external payments, Apple apparently also Additional notification The screen warns app users that they are about to “visit an external website” and that Apple is no longer “responsible for the privacy or security of user purchases.”
The outcome of this long-running legal drama is largely viewed as a success for Apple and a rather unfair deal for Epic. gaming companies, therefore, fort nightwas still kicked out of Apple’s App Store, and to add insult to injury, Epic is now Owes Apple $73 million in legal fees. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is visibly angry. On this week’s X, Sweeney accused Apple of engaging in what he called “anti-competitive” practices and hinted that the long legal battle with its corporate foes may not be over yet: “Epic will be in district court,” Sweeney added.
