Apple can delay changes to App Store while Epic case continues, appeals court rules

Apple, which has been ensnared in a high-profile legal battle with Cary-based Epic Games, won’t immediately have to make changes to its App Store policies, after a federal appeals court approved Apple’s request to delay the mandatory changes while the ruling is appealed.

In October, Apple filed a partial appeal of Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ ruling in Epic’s antitrust case against Apple.

Under Gonzalez Rogers’ ruling, developers would have been able to add links to alternative payment systems starting on Dec. 9. Gonzalez Rogers said stopping app developers from communicating alternative payment options to customers violated an anti-steering provision in California’s competition laws.

The changes to the App Store would have conceivably made it easier for developers to get around the 30% fee that Apple charges on all transactions conducted within the App Store.

Apple’s request was approved by judges in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. “Our concern is that these changes would have created new privacy and security risks and disrupted the user experience customers love about the App Store,” Apple said in a statement.

Apple did not appeal the rest of the judge’s decision, which said Apple is not a monopoly. Epic has appealed that portion of the ruling.

Epic Games has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The appeals process could take more than a year, giving Apple a chance to fight the mandated changes to its App Store policies and potentially never have to introduce them.

The lawsuit dates to August 2020, when Epic Games placed an alternative payment system within the iPhone and Android versions of Fortnite, a move that allowed the company to ignore the 30% in-app purchasing fee both Apple and Google levy.

Apple and Google then booted Fortnite from their app stores, leading to Epic’s antitrust lawsuits against the companies. (The separate lawsuit against Google is still ongoing.)

Last May, Apple and Epic Games argued in court for two weeks, with both Epic founder Tim Sweeney and Apple CEO Tim Cook taking the witness stand.

Epic eventually received a partial victory from Gonzalez Rogers, but lost its larger request — that the judge rule that Apple is running an illegal monopoly through its App Store.

It also did not convince the judge that developers should be allowed to bypass the App Store entirely or that developers should be allowed to put their own payment systems within apps.

This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate.

This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 7:30 PM.