Court Rules Apple App Store Rules Do Not Violate Antitrust Laws

A federal district court today ruled that Apple’s rules regarding payments on its App Store do not violate antitrust laws. The case, brought by video game maker Epic Games, alleged Apple violated antitrust laws by requiring purchases be made on its own system.

Director of CEI’s Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin said:

“With a court finding it is not a monopoly, the decision is largely a victory for Apple. The company will mostly continue to operate their private property, the Apple App Store, by the rules it wishes. Apple will not be forced to allow outside payment systems from developers and the App Store can remain the exclusive app download method on iPhones and iPads. The finding that Apple is in violation of California state law under the software giant’s prohibition on developers telling users there are alternative and cheaper payment options is along the lines of concessions it has already started to make with internal policy changes and legal settlement offers. Consumers will continue to benefit from Apple’s intact security, convenience and reliability at the App Store.”    

Senior Fellow Ryan Young said:

“The wisdom of Apple’s business practices is constantly being put to the test by consumers. Their size does not protect them from flops like the Newton tablet, its failed Ping social network, or its forgotten Pippin gaming console. Same goes for the App Store’s payment and commission policies.

“The separate question of whether Apple’s App Store is a monopoly is less debatable. Making that case requires defining Apple’s market so narrowly that real-world consumers can escape its boundaries with a dozen keystrokes or less. Before Apple booted Epic’s Fortnite game from its App Store in August 2020, roughly 90 percent of Fortnite downloads came through non-App Store vendors. Epic tried to define Apple’s market this way; the court disagreed.

“Any market is a monopoly if you define it narrowly enough. But those types of language games don’t always hold up in court. Real-world considerations keep getting in the way.”