Last month, Epic Games filed a motion asking a California judge to hold Apple in contempt for what it claims are violations of a 2021 injunction related to the company’s App Store practices. Now, Apple is asking the judge to dismiss Epic’s request, claiming in a new lawsuit spotted by that the motion is an attempt to “micromanage Apple’s business operations in a way that would increase Epic’s profitability.”
The original injunction from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers required Apple to allow developers to provide an option for third-party payment methods, which would allow them to avoid fees of up to 30% on the App Store and in-app purchases. Litter for developers in January that allow links to external sites for purchasing alternatives, but the new rules also require them to get Apple’s approval to do so and impose a commission of 12 to 27 percent for such transactions. Per ReutersEpic argued that this makes alternative payment options “commercially unusable.”
Epic also said at the time that Apple’s “so-called compliance is a sham” and accused the company of violating the injunction with its recent actions. Apple claims it acted in compliance with the injunction, stating in the new order: “The purpose of the injunction is to make information about alternative purchase options more readily available, not to dictate the commercial terms under which Apple provides access to its platform, tools and technologies and user base.”
