SCOTUS refuses to hear Apple's and Epic's appeals, allowing an appeals court ruling that lets app developers steer users to other payment systems take effect
which is that Apple can no longer block in-app links to web-based account management portals — is that Apple (and Google) can still charge a fee on external purchases, as I detail here: https://mobiledevmemo.com/... Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Epic has lost its last shot at getting Apple's App Store on iOS declared a monopoly as the Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal. This means Epic only had one win; Apple can't stop devs from telling users IAP are cheaper outside the App Store. https://www.bloomberg.com/... @games_fray : ANALYSIS: Epic's California injunction against Apple's anti-steering rule takes effect as Supreme Court denies both parties' petitions Apple fended off the largest & most important parts of Epic's case but maybe the DOJ or someone else will revive them. https://gamesfray.com/... Riz Virk / @rizstanford : This is pretty ridiculous - if ever there was a monopoly in us tech that deserved to be broken up, or which was using it's platform power inappropriately to cut out any competition, it's apple's App Store on iOS devices .... I spent the greater part of ten years working in that ecosystem and it's about as clear cut as it could be ... this is what happens when you have non-tech people making legal judgements about technology! Stephen Totilo / @stephentotilo : The Supreme Court will not hear Epic and Apple's appeals of the decision in the Fortnite case. That leaves things mostly as an Apple win. But with one court order in Epic's favor that requires Apple to allow developers to point app users to external payment methods [image] @games_fray : The #EpicGames v. #Apple judgment is now FINAL. The Supreme Court has denied either party's petition for review. This means the anti-anti-steering injunction that Epic won under California Unfair Competition Law enters into force. Apple wanted to prevent or delay that. 🧵1/4 [image] Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : I totally support Epic Games' fight for app freedom. It feels bad they've won something that will benefit *others*, not them: Apple doesn't have to put Fortnite back on the App Store. Epic's fate reminds me of soccer player and EU antitrust plaintiff Jean-Marc Bosman: 🧵1/2 Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : This is a very complex situation. There are reasons for which Epic would have needed a Supreme Court review more, but also reasons for which Apple won't like this outcome. The anti-anti-steering injunction allows app makers to promote alternative purchasing methods (WWW, Android) David Barnard / @drbarnard : Gonna be fascinating to see what Apple actually allows and then the legal battles that ensue to parse the injunction. Also whether or not Apple is going to take a stab at requiring developers pay 27% of revenue generated like they do in South Korea and the Netherlands. [image] Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : Gamers should know that Apple generates substantially greater profits from games than any game maker in the world. And Apple has never made a game, at least none that any of us would know. It's just its monopoly power that allows it to tax the games industry. Kaelan Deese / @kaelandc : NEW: Supreme Court declines to get involved in an effort by Epic Games to have them review a lower court ruling in an antitrust case. Epic says Apple unfairly monopolizes the mobile app space with its iOS software and its in-app purchasing system. [image] Forums: Hacker News : Supreme Court Rejects Apple's Bid for Epic App Store Review Msmash / Slashdot : Supreme Court Rejects Apple-Epic Games Legal Battle MacRumors Forums : US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Apple vs. Epic Games Case
Bloomberg
Context & Ripple Effects
The Supreme Court’s refusal ends the review path that followed the Ninth Circuit’s largely Apple-favorable 2023 appellate ruling. An earlier Supreme Court decision had left Apple’s payment rules in place while Epic sought review; this action lets the remaining anti-steering injunction operate.
The result is narrow but commercially meaningful: Epic did not win its broader challenge to the App Store’s structure, while developers gained a defined way to direct users beyond Apple’s in-app checkout.
First-order effects
Apple must permit developers to include links that steer users to web-based account-management or purchasing options rather than blocking those links in apps.
Developers can test external purchase flows and communicate lower-priced alternatives, though the reported framework still allows Apple and Google to charge fees on external purchases.
Second-order effects
Subscription, gaming, and other digital-goods developers gain leverage to compare App Store conversion against web checkout economics; Apple’s external-purchase fee terms become central to whether steering is worthwhile.
Platform rivals and payment providers have a clearer U.S. precedent for competing around in-app payments, without the ruling requiring Apple to host third-party app stores.
Third-order effects
The case points toward regulation and litigation targeting platform conduct—especially steering and transaction fees—rather than necessarily dismantling mobile app-store distribution.
If external-link permissions spread while platform fees persist, the durable contest will shift from access to the app store toward the effective take rate and the practical friction of leaving it.
The trend: Mobile-platform oversight is increasingly focused on limiting gatekeepers’ control over payment routing while preserving much of their distribution control.
The Supreme Court denied both sides' appeals of the Epic v. Apple antitrust case. The court battle to open iOS to competing stores and payments is lost in the United States. A sad outcome for all developers.
Now the District Court's injunction against Apple's anti-steering rule is in effect, and developers can include in their apps “buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to IAP”.
As of today, developers can begin exercising their court-established right to tell US customers about better prices on the web. These awful Apple-mandated confusion screens are over and done forever. [image]
The fight goes on. Regulators are taking action and policymakers around the world are passing new laws to end Apple's illegal and anticompetitive app store practices. The European Union's Digital Markets Act goes into effect March 7.
Apple is going to poison the one victory Epic secured in their lawsuit so bad nobody would ever think to use it. They want a 27%(!!!!) commission on any link from an app to a website, reporting every few weeks, AND the right to audit your books?? Insane. [image]
The question for bigger developers: Does using $AAPL's payment system increase conversion by more than 30%? Answer: Maybe. I believe larger developers have stronger brands that can motivate people to transact off platform.
#Apple #Epic - after SCOTUS passed on reviewing the case, Apple has to comply with federal court injunction over ‘steering.’ Has changed its App Store review guidelines, but Epic says the solution is in bad faith and will fight in court. So this case isn't completely over...
The problem for developers with this outcome — which is that Apple can no longer block in-app links to web-based account management portals — is that Apple (and Google) can still charge a fee on external purchases, as I detail here: https://mobiledevmemo.com/...
Epic has lost its last shot at getting Apple's App Store on iOS declared a monopoly as the Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal. This means Epic only had one win; Apple can't stop devs from telling users IAP are cheaper outside the App Store. https://www.bloomberg.com/..…
ANALYSIS: Epic's California injunction against Apple's anti-steering rule takes effect as Supreme Court denies both parties' petitions Apple fended off the largest & most important parts of Epic's case but maybe the DOJ or someone else will revive them. https://gamesfray.com/...
This is pretty ridiculous - if ever there was a monopoly in us tech that deserved to be broken up, or which was using it's platform power inappropriately to cut out any competition, it's apple's App Store on iOS devices .... I spent the greater part of ten years working in that e…
The Supreme Court will not hear Epic and Apple's appeals of the decision in the Fortnite case. That leaves things mostly as an Apple win. But with one court order in Epic's favor that requires Apple to allow developers to point app users to external payment methods [image]
The #EpicGames v. #Apple judgment is now FINAL. The Supreme Court has denied either party's petition for review. This means the anti-anti-steering injunction that Epic won under California Unfair Competition Law enters into force. Apple wanted to prevent or delay that. 🧵1/4 [imag…
I totally support Epic Games' fight for app freedom. It feels bad they've won something that will benefit *others*, not them: Apple doesn't have to put Fortnite back on the App Store. Epic's fate reminds me of soccer player and EU antitrust plaintiff Jean-Marc Bosman: 🧵1/2
This is a very complex situation. There are reasons for which Epic would have needed a Supreme Court review more, but also reasons for which Apple won't like this outcome. The anti-anti-steering injunction allows app makers to promote alternative purchasing methods (WWW, Android)
Gonna be fascinating to see what Apple actually allows and then the legal battles that ensue to parse the injunction. Also whether or not Apple is going to take a stab at requiring developers pay 27% of revenue generated like they do in South Korea and the Netherlands. [image]
Gamers should know that Apple generates substantially greater profits from games than any game maker in the world. And Apple has never made a game, at least none that any of us would know. It's just its monopoly power that allows it to tax the games industry.
NEW: Supreme Court declines to get involved in an effort by Epic Games to have them review a lower court ruling in an antitrust case. Epic says Apple unfairly monopolizes the mobile app space with its iOS software and its in-app purchasing system. [image]