Epic Games CEO Heads To District Court, Contesting Apple’s ‘Bad Faith’ Compliance Plan After Supreme Court Ruling

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Fortnite-maker Epic Games, has reportedly declared his intention to challenge Apple Inc.’s AAPL compliance plan after the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest ruling concerning the policies governing in-app purchases on Apple Store.

What Happened: On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that Apple must allow developers to provide alternative payment options on its App Store.

As per the report by 9To5Mac, while Apple has decided to adjust its App Store guidelines in accordance with the judgment, these alterations may not fully cater to the demands of all developers.

See Also: How Did Epic Games’ Showdown With Google Differ From Apple? CEO Tim Sweeney Says It Was Like Ice And Fire

The tech giant will now allow developers to incorporate links to alternate payment methods within their apps. However, there’s a catch: the developers must still offer in-app purchases through the App Store’s sales system, giving users the option to either use the App Store or an alternative method for their transactions.

Furthermore, Apple intends to charge a 27% commission on purchases made via alternative platforms. The commission for small developers will be at a reduced rate of 12%. This is a minor decrease from their current commission rates of 30% and 15% respectively. 

Additionally, Apple will intermittently require audits and tax accounting for qualifying out-of-app purchases, the report noted. 

Sweeney, however, has labeled Apple’s revised policy as “anticompetitive.” He criticized the need for developers to open a generic browser session for purchases and Apple’s use of a “scare screen” to deter users from alternative platforms. 

Apple did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments. 

In response to Benzinga’s request for comments, Epic Games directed us to Sweeney’s post on X (formerly Twitter) which stated, “Epic will contest Apple’s bad-faith compliance plan in District Court.”

Why It Matters: Apple and Epic Games had lodged appeals challenging a court ruling from 2022 that absolved Apple of antitrust monopolistic allegations.

Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled nine out of 10 claims in favor of the iPhone maker, backing the earlier decision. However, it upheld the decision that the tech giant would have to allow developers to place links that allow users to make payments outside the App Store.

In 2020, the Fortnite maker filed a similar suit against Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google, alleging that the tech giant exploited its market dominance to negotiate agreements with phone manufacturers and levy extra charges on consumers.

Epic Games won the suit in a landmark antitrust ruling in December 2023.

Photo by BigTunaOnline on Shutterstock

Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: Elon Musk, Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney Agree Apple Should Return To Its ‘Open’ Roots

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Go Source