Epic says Apple violates court order with "commercially unusable" payment links
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Epic Games is calling for Apple to be held in contempt of court for violating the judge's order that followed the 2021 legal dispute between the two.
Bloomberg reported that the Fortnite firm filed a request to a federal judge on Wednesday, arguing that Apple has failed to comply with the original order about allowing developers to direct users to alternative payment systems. Apple was ordered to enable links to transactions that do not involve iOS' processing process, which entitles Apple to a 30% commission.
While Apple has enabled all third-party apps sold in the US to include external payment links, as ordered, it has said it will claim a 27% commission on any proceeds generated through these methods.
The company also said developers must apply for an 'entitlement' before they can include such links, and that these links may not be displayed more than once in the app or on the App Store page.
In its filing, Epic said these addition fees and stipulations have made the links "commercially unusable" and is calling for the court to order Apple to fully comply.
"Apple's new scheme so pervasively taxes, regulates, restricts and burdens in-app links directing users to alternative purchasing mechanisms on a developer’s website," the company's legal counsel wrote in the filing, adding that the all of this makes the links "entirely useless."
The filing continued: "Apple's goal is clear: to prevent purchasing alternatives from constraining its supracompetitive fees it collects on purchases of digital goods and services."
Apple told Bloomberg it had fully complied with the order, arguing that its regulations and limitations are necessary to "protect user privacy and security, maintain the integrity of Apple's ecosystem, promote the flow of information, avoid user confusion, and enable efficient review of developers' apps by App Review."
The option to include direct payment links only applies in the US.
Read more on gamesindustry.biz
