Epic wants Apple held in contempt of court for not following through on removing anti-steering measures

Image Credit: Epic Games

In January, the three-year battle between Apple and Epic had finally concluded after the Supreme Court refused to hear appeals from either company. This meant that Apple would need to comply with the one ruling it lost — a fight against Apple's anti-steering practices.

In a court order filed on Wednesday, Epic has asked a federal judge to hold Apple in contempt of court over failure to comply with the court order that would allow developers to link to outside payment platforms.

"Apple's goal is clear: to prevent purchasing alternatives from constraining the supracompetitive fees it collects on purchases of digital goods and services," Epic said in the filing. "Apple's so-called compliance is a sham."

Of course, Apple has already filed with the court that it has complied. In January, Apple informed the court that it was allowing developers to apply for an entitlement to provide a link within their app to a website the developer owns or is responsible for. The entitlement can only be used for iOS or iPadOS apps in the United States App Store.

If approved, developers must prove goods purchased via the external app link are for in-app use. They also must provide methods for disputing unauthorized transactions, managing subscriptions, and requesting refunds.

Additionally, Apple will still charge a 27% commission on purchases made via external links. Developers eligible for the App Store Small Business Program will be charged a 12% commission, and second-year subscriptions will also be charged 12%.

The court did not reject that compliance filing, and it was able to do so if it wanted.

Dkt 897 - 2024.03.13 - Motion to Enforce Injunction by Mike Wuerthele on Scribd