In an attempt to protect a valuable revenue stream, Apple is trying to delay a court ruling that forces the company to let iOS app developers in the U.S. redirect users to external payment systems and avoid paying a commission to the iPhone maker.
The company filed an emergency motion late on Wednesday, asking an appeals court to grant a partial stay on a previous ruling.
A U.S. court last week ruled in favor of Epic Games in a long-running case against Apple, after Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found that Apple did not comply with an order that was handed down in 2021.
The new ruling forces Apple to let apps on its U.S. App Store include features that could redirect users to external systems for making purchases, stop collecting commissions on those payments, and stop showing “scare screens” — pop-up messages warning users of the dangers of making in-app purchases from non-Apple systems.
Apple is now asking for a stay on the prohibitions on “charging a cut of transactions that users make via external purchase links, and setting any conditions on the language or placement of links or other references to external purchase options.”
Apple argues that the new ruling is unwarranted, saying it “dramatically” increases the scope of the earlier injunction, as the court did not originally bar the company from charging commissions on non-Apple payment systems — Apple had not started doing that at the time.
Apple says it complied with the court’s 2021 injunction by letting developers link out to non-Apple payment systems. We must note that it charged app developers a 27% cut on those transactions anyway, in addition to showing the “scare screens” described above.
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The new order would result in significant losses, the company said. “These restrictions, which will cost Apple substantial sums annually, are based on conduct that has never been adjudicated to be (and is not) unlawful; rather, they were imposed to punish Apple for purported non-compliance with an earlier state-law Injunction that is itself invalid,” it said in the filing.
“Without a stay, these extraordinary intrusions into Apple’s business will cause grave irreparable harm,” the company said.
Epic Games reacted to Apple’s motion and said it is a “last-ditch effort to block competition and extract massive junk fees at the expense of consumers and developers.”
The iPhone maker filed an appeal against the court decision earlier this week. The company has already complied with the order and is allowing developers to link users out to complete purchases outside the App Store ecosystem. Companies like Spotify and Amazon have already updated their apps to redirect users to their own websites for payments.
The story has been updated with Epic Games’ statement.
