In an escalation of the long-running legal battle between Apple Inc. and Epic Games, a U.S. federal judge has ruled that Apple violated a court order designed to open its App Store to greater competition.
The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, refers Apple and one of its senior executives to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation.
The ruling stems from Apple’s failure to comply with an injunction issued in 2021 after the company was found to have breached California competition law in a suit brought by Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game Fortnite. The injunction required Apple to allow developers to inform users of alternative payment methods outside the App Store, where Apple typically levies a 30% commission on in-app purchases.
In her 80-page opinion, Judge Gonzalez Rogers stated that Apple had “willfully disregarded” the court’s prior order, calling the company’s conduct “an affront to the rule of law.” She criticized the testimony of Apple’s Vice President of Finance, Alex Roman, as “replete with misdirection and outright lies,” and referred both Apple and Roman to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt review.
“Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated,” Judge Gonzalez Rogers wrote. “This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order.”
The judge’s ruling bars Apple from further impeding developers’ ability to communicate with users and explicitly prohibits the company from imposing new fees on purchases made outside its App Store. She also denied Apple’s request to stay the ruling, citing the company’s repeated delays and the severity of its misconduct.
Apple responded to the decision in a statement, saying, “We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal.”
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney hailed the ruling as a significant victory for developers and consumers alike. “It forces Apple to compete with other payment services rather than blocking them,” Sweeney said. He confirmed that Fortnite would return to the App Store in the coming week after being removed in 2020 when Epic enabled in-app purchases that bypassed Apple’s payment system, Reuters reported.
Epic had earlier accused Apple of violating the injunction by introducing a new 27% fee on developers when users make purchases via external links, and by displaying discouraging warnings to users who navigate outside the App Store. In court filings, Apple defended its actions, stating it had made “extensive efforts” to comply with the injunction while safeguarding consumers and preserving its business model.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers was unpersuaded, remarking in a previous hearing that Apple’s adjustments appeared designed solely “to stifle competition.”
While the judge stopped short of determining whether a criminal case should proceed, she noted it would now fall to the U.S. Department of Justice to assess whether Apple should face penalties or be forced to forfeit any gains obtained in violation of the court’s order.
The ruling marks a turning point in the ongoing global scrutiny of Apple’s App Store policies and could have broad implications for digital marketplaces and antitrust enforcement in the tech sector.
