Apple and Epic appeal 9th Circuit over App Store rules

Apple and Epic Games returned to court this week as the long-running dispute over the App Store’s rules and fees enters another phase in the United States and unfolds in other jurisdictions. The immediate focus is a hearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, where Apple is asking judges to overturn or narrow an order that a district judge said the company willfully violated by restricting developers’ ability to direct users to alternative payment options outside the App Store.

The case dates to 2020, when Apple removed Fortnite after Epic Games added an in-app link to a separate payment system, bypassing Apple’s payment processing and the commission the company takes on digital sales. In 2021, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Apple to allow developers to point customers to outside payment channels. Apple implemented a system in response but imposed a 27% fee on purchases routed that way. In April a court found Apple had "willfully" defied the 2021 injunction and barred the company from charging commissions on transactions that take place outside the App Store, referring the conduct to federal prosecutors for possible criminal...