Apple Antitrust

Apple has filed an appeal against the European Union's Digital Markets Act interoperability requirements, calling the rules "deeply flawed" and a threat to user security (via The Wall Street Journal). Apple submitted its challenge to the EU's General Court in Luxembourg on May 30, targeting the Commission's March decision that requires Apple to make iOS more compatible with rival products...

Apple has filed an emergency motion asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to pause key parts of a recent ruling that dramatically changes how the App Store operates, following a contempt finding in its long-running legal battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games. In court documents filed Wednesday, Apple called the district court's order "extraordinary" and argued it unlawfully forces the...

In a scorching ruling against Apple, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Wednesday accused an Apple finance executive of providing false testimony under oath during the company's ongoing legal battle with Epic Games. The judge stated that Alex Roman, Apple's vice president of finance, gave testimony that was "replete with misdirection and outright lies" regarding when Apple decided on its...

Apple plans to change its U.S. App Store rules in accordance with a ruling from the U.S Northern District of California, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. The company does plan to appeal the decision, though. "We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court's order and we will appeal," reads Apple's statement. Apple was found to be in violation of a 2021...

In a victory for Epic Games, Apple was today found to be in violation of a 2021 injunction that required it to allow developers to direct customers to third-party purchase options on the web using in-app links. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who has been handling the Apple vs. ‌Epic Games‌ dispute for the last five years, said that Apple is in "willful violation" of the injunction she issued...

Apple's $570 million fine from the EU has triggered a sharp rebuke from the White House, which called the fine a form of economic extortion, Reuters reports. The fine was announced on Wednesday by the European Commission, following a formal investigation into Apple's compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market dominance of ...

The European Commission has fined Apple 500 million euros ($570 million) and Meta 200 million euros ($230 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), in the first penalties ever issued under the new EU tech regulation. Apple was penalized for restricting app developers from informing users about alternative payment options outside the App Store. The Commission said it had...

The European Commission is set to close its year-long investigation into Apple's default browser choice screen on iPhones in the EU after the company made changes to comply with the requirements in the Digital Markets Act (via Reuters). The Commission launched a non-compliance investigation in March last year under the DMA, concerned that Apple's design of the web browser choice screen could ...

Apple on Tuesday lost its appeal in Germany's Federal Court of Justice against a regulatory assessment that subjects the company to heightened antitrust scrutiny in the country (via Reuters). The German court ruled that the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) was correct in its April 2023 decision to classify Apple under the "extended abuse control" regime of the country's Competition Act. The...

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday issued its final verdict on the state of the country's mobile browser market, and the regulator has concluded that Apple's policies are largely responsible for hampering competition and innovation. The CMA's independent inquiry group's investigation found that Apple's requirement for all iOS browsers to use its WebKit engine is...

Apple Fellow Phil Schiller testified in court on Monday that he initially opposed the 27% commission Apple now charges on purchases made outside the App Store, citing compliance risks and potential developer backlash (via AP News). Schiller, who oversees the App Store, said he had concerns that the fee would create an "antagonistic relationship" between Apple and developers, and worried...

Apple is fighting to defend its multi-billion dollar search engine deal with Google as Google is prosecuted for antitrust violations, and so far, the court isn't making it easy. Last week, Apple filed a motion for an emergency stay that would give the Cupertino company time to intervene in the lawsuit, but the judge overseeing the case denied Apple's motion [PDF] and won't hold off on moving...

Apple wants to defend its multi-billion dollar search engine deal with Google, which is in danger because Google has been found guilty of violating antitrust law. Apple has asked the court handling Google's lawsuit with the U.S. government for an emergency stay [PDF], so that Apple has time to intervene and plead its case before a remedy is decided on. The U.S. Department of Justice sued...

UK regulators on Thursday launched an investigation into Apple and Google's smartphone ecosystems to assess whether they have "strategic market status" (SMS), a designation that if imposed would subject the companies to specific conduct requirements set by the Competition and Markets authority (CMA) to improve competition. The investigation will look at the companies' operating systems, app...

A Brazilian federal court has overturned an antitrust ruling that would have required Apple to allow third-party payment systems in the App Store within 20 days. The initial ruling, issued on November 26, came in response to a 2022 complaint from Latin American e-commerce platform MercadoLibre. The regulator had ordered Apple to remove restrictions on alternative payment systems and allow...

Brazil's antitrust regulator has ordered Apple to remove App Store restrictions on third-party payment systems and allow developers to market alternative payment options for in-app purchases. Apple has 20 days to comply or face daily fines of $43,000. The ruling by the Council for Economic Defense (Cade) comes in response to a 2022 complaint filed by MercadoLibre, Latin America's largest...

The European Commission has ended its antitrust investigation into Apple's App Store rules for ebook and audiobook apps, following the withdrawal of a complaint by an ebook distributor. Originally launched in June 2020, the investigation was sparked by a complaint from Rakuten's Kobo subsidiary. Kobo had argued that Apple's mandatory 30% commission on App Store purchases made it virtually...

Apple's restrictions on mobile browsers are limiting innovation and holding back new features that could benefit iPhone users, according to provisional findings published today by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In its report, the CMA's independent inquiry group determined that Apple's Safari browser policies prevent competing browsers from implementing certain features,...

Apple is facing an almost £3 billion ($3.78 billion) lawsuit after British consumer group Which? on Thursday alleged that the company breached competition law by locking millions of its customers out of its iCloud service and charging them "rip-off prices." Apple users receive 5GB of free storage to back up photos, messages, and other content, and are then encouraged to pay for the service...

A Chinese court has agreed to hear a lawsuit against Apple from Beijing Bodyreader, a developer seeking around $420,000 in damages after their children's posture correction app was removed from the App Store in 2020. Bloomberg reports that the case – the first of its kind to be heard in Beijing's intellectual property court – bears similarities to Epic Games' 2021 lawsuit against Apple....