iOS app users can now get a choice of in-app payment systems rather than having to work through Apple. The US Supreme Court has decided not to hear appeals from the iGiant and Epic Games in the pair's long-standing spat.
SCOTUS denied both Apple and Epic's writs of certiorari filed in September, when both parties filed an appeal to an April decision by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. That decision largely upheld a lower court verdict that Apple's "anti-steering" rules barring links to outside payment systems was unlawful, but decided in Apple's favor that the App Store's app review guidelines weren't necessarily anticompetitive.
The Supreme Court offered no justification for its denial.
For those unfamiliar with the Epic v. Apple saga, the case goes back to 2020 after Apple barred the hugely popular Fortnite (and other Epic Games apps) from the App Store. Cupertino accused Epic of directing users outside of its walled garden to purchase in-game currency and items - a violation of the anti-steering rules.
Epic sued Apple in response, leading to the aforementioned 2021 decision that found Apple wasn't being a monopolist, but still struck down the anti-steering provision.
Neither party was satisfied with the outcome, leading to the Ninth Circuit appeal, and a stay on the court's decision that Apple would have to start allowing in-app purchasing. The stay was maintained after the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court decision as, so Apple and Epic prepped for appeals to the SCOTUS.
Epic asked the Supremes in August to release the stay on the anti-steering ban, but the Supremes rejected that request as well.
When asked for comment, Epic Games directed us to a Twitter thread posted today by CEO Tim Sweeney, who, despite managing to achieve a partial win in the affair, described the SCOTUS rejection as "a sad outcome for all developers."
"The District Court's injunction against Apple's anti-steering rule is in effect … as of today, developers can begin exercising their court-established right to tell US customers about better prices on the web," Sweeney said.
Still, the Epic Games CEO added, the fight isn't over.
"Regulators are taking action and policymakers around the world are passing new laws to end Apple's illegal and anticompetitive app store practices," Sweeney added, in reference to the EU's Digital Markets Act that will also force Apple. to open apps to third-party IAPs
As for what the decision means for Epic's presence in the Apple App Store, it's not immediately clear whether Epic will be allowed to return. We asked Apple and its lawyers in the case, but haven't heard back.
Epic won a similar court battle against Google late last year, and is expected to go to trial against Google in Australia sometime this year. ®
Source: The register