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The
setback threatens to divert billions of dollars in revenue away
from Apple while it tried to overturn the order reining in its
commissions from e-commerce within iPhone apps.
Apple sought to put the order on hold after it was issued by
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers in a stinging rebuke
that also held the Cupertino, California, company in civil
contempt of court and recommended opening a criminal
investigation into whether one of its executives had committed
perjury while testifying in her Oakland, California, courtroom.
It marked another twist of the screw in a legal battle initiated
nearly five years ago by video game maker Epic Games, which
alleged Apple had turned the iPhone’s app store had been turned
into a price-gouging monopoly. The antitrust case focused
largely on the 15% to 30% commissions that Apple rakes in from a
portion of the commerce conducted within iPhone apps under a
system that prohibited app makers from offering alternative
payment methods.
Apple is still seeking to overturn Gonzalez-Rogers' ruling in
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but her order blocking
Apple's commissions on some in-app commerce will remain in
effect while potentially leaving a dent in its profits.
“The long national nightmare of the Apple tax is ended,” Epic
Games CEO Tim Sweeney wrote in a post after the appeals court
denied Apple's request.
In a statement, Apple said it was disappointed with the denial
of its stay request and vowed to pursue its appeal “to ensure
the app store remains an incredible opportunity for developers
and a safe and trusted experience for our users.”
Although Gonzalez-Rogers mostly sided with Apple in her initial
2021 ruling in the case, she ordered the company to begin
allowing apps to include links to alternative payment systems —
a decision that withstood appeals that went all the way to the
Supreme Court in 2024. Apple then complied by requiring
commissions of 12% to 27%, provoking Epic to ask Gonzalez-Rogers
to hold Apple in contempt of her order.
After holding a new round of hearings that unfolded over a
nine-month period straddling last year and this year,
Gonzalez-Rogers brought down another legal hammer on Apple.
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