Supreme Court to Hear Apple Appeal on Epic Games Contempt

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Apple’s appeal of a contempt ruling in its long-running legal battle with Epic Games, a case that could significantly impact the global app marketplace. The justices granted Apple’s petition on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, and will hear arguments in the court’s next term, which begins in October.

The dispute centers on whether Apple violated a 2021 injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. That order, stemming from Epic’s 2020 antitrust lawsuit, required Apple to allow developers to include links in their apps directing users to alternative payment systems outside the App Store. While Apple largely prevailed on the core antitrust claims in the original case, it was required to relax its so-called anti-steering rules.

Apple complied by permitting the links but instituted new terms, including a commission of up to 27 percent on purchases made through third-party systems within seven days of a user clicking an in-app link. This compared to Apple’s standard App Store commission of 30 percent. Epic Games argued this fee structure undermined the intent of the court order. In April 2025, Judge Rogers found Apple in civil...