In August 2020, Epic Games took Apple to court over its restrictive rules regarding third-party apps on Apple devices. Nearly three years later, an appeals court upheld a decision rejecting claims that Apple violated federal competition law by restricting third-party app stores from its devices. Although Epic Games agreed that Apple’s behaviour was anti-competitive, the panel found that the company’s legal representatives failed to make a strong enough case. The court’s decision is not surprising given the difficulty of challenging existing precedent.
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Apple is pleased with the outcome, with the company sharing that “today’s decision reaffirms Apple’s resounding victory in this case, with nine of ten claims having been decided in Apple’s favour. For the second time in two years, a federal court has ruled that Apple abides by antitrust laws at the state and federal levels.”
Apple also stated that the App Store continues to promote competition, drive innovation, and expand opportunities for both users and developers worldwide. The company respectfully disagreed with the court’s ruling on the remaining claim under state law and is considering further review.
Epic Games founder and CEO, Tim Sweeney, took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the ruling. While he expressed disappointment with the decision, he noted that the court’s decision rejecting Apple’s anti-steering provisions frees iOS developers to send consumers to the web to do business with them directly there. He stated that his team is working on next steps.
It is unclear if Epic Games will continue to fight the decision, but for now, Apple has come out on top. However, the case has raised questions about the role of online transaction platforms with market power in our economy and democracy. While the appeals court cannot resolve that debate, it has faithfully applied existing precedent to the facts. It remains to be seen how this decision will impact future legal battles in the tech industry.
