Apple Blasted by Judge: Lying Under Oath and Losing App Store Control -

Apple Blasted by Judge: Lying Under Oath and App Store Control

Episode Notes: In this episode, we dive into the dramatic developments from the ongoing legal battle between Epic Games and Apple. A recent ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has delivered a significant blow to Apple's control over its App Store.The judge has banned Apple from charging a commission on purchases made outside the App Store. This stems from Apple's "ongoing anticompetitive behavior", specifically their response to a previous 2021 ruling that required them to allow developers to direct users to external purchasing options.Instead of allowing commission-free external purchases as anticipated by the court, Apple introduced a policy in 2024 that levied a 27% commission on such transactions. Judge Rogers found that Apple "willfully violated and ignored" her 2021 injunction, stating, "That [Apple] thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation".Furthermore, the ruling revealed serious findings about Apple's conduct during the trial. Judge Rogers found that Apple Vice President of Finance Alex Roman "outright lied" under oath regarding the timing of Apple's decision to impose the 27% fee. The judge stated that Apple "adopted the lies and misrepresentations" by not correcting them. She wrote that Apple presented evidence that seemed "tailor-made for litigation" rather than reflecting actual internal discussions, and that contemporaneous documents showed Apple "knew exactly what it was doing and at every turn chose the most anticompetitive option".Adding to the severity, Judge Rogers referred the matter to U.S. attorneys to investigate potential criminal contempt proceedings against both Alex Roman and Apple Inc.. She also noted that Apple CEO Tim Cook ignored advice from App Store chief Phil Schiller regarding complying with the original injunction.Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called the decision a "huge victory for developers" and announced that Fortnite would return to the US App Store following the ruling. He offered a "peace proposal," suggesting Epic would drop litigation if Apple applied the "friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide".This ruling highlights a significant contrast between Apple's stated values of honesty, compliance, and integrity and the court's findings of willful violation, lying, and anticompetitive behavior. As Judge Rogers stated, "This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order".

• Judge bans Apple commission on external App Store purchases.
• Ruling finds Apple willfully violated previous order.
• Apple VP found to have "outright lied" under oath.
• Apple Inc. deemed to have "adopted the lies".
• Matter referred for potential criminal contempt proceedings.
• Epic Games plans to bring Fortnite back to the App Store.

Relevant source materials for this episode include excerpts from articles by The Verge and CNBC and the WSJ. 

Keywords: Apple, Epic Games, App Store, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, Fortnite, antitrust, lawsuit, court ruling, commission, fees, contempt of court, perjury, Alex Roman, Tim Sweeney, Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, anticompetitive, regulation, tech news, mobile apps, iOS.

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