Apple relied on a possible investigation of criminal contempt

A US District Judge found that Apple intentionally violated its order brought by Epic Games – and that Apple’s top executive director “frankly lied” under oath.

The order had to block Apple from anti -competitive behavior and pricing, opening the App Store to outdoor payment options.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she had directed the issue before the US lawyer for the North California district to investigate whether criminal contempt proceedings were appropriate.

Apple replied to the decision at the end of Wednesday.

“We strongly disagree with the decision. We will comply with the court’s order and we will appeal,” a spokesman for Apple said.

The decision on Wednesday refers to a 2021 case filed by Epic Games, the Fortnite manufacturer, one of the most popular games in the world, which claims that third-party payment options must be available to customers.

This challenged up to 30% of Apple’s cut off from purchases-and claims that the App Store is monopolistic.

In his decision in 2021, Judge Gonzalez Rogers said Apple could no longer ban developers who connect with their own purchase mechanisms.

In addition to buying games, another example of how it would work is a movie flow service that can tell customers to subscribe through their own website without using the Apple purchase mechanism in the app.

In a contempt order issued on Wednesday, Judge Gonzalez Rogers found that Apple still intervenes in the competition with attempting that the court stated that it would not be tolerated.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers added that the internal documents of the company she reviewed show that Apple deliberately violated the order.

The documents reveal that “Apple knows exactly what he does and at every turn he chose the most anti -competitive version,” she wrote.

She said that CEO Tim Cook ignored the summoning of CEO Philip Schiller to comply with the order and allowed Financial Officer Luka Maestras to convince him not to do so.

“Cook chosen badly,” she wrote.

She also said that Apple’s Vice President Alex Roman “lied to the sworn”.

The judge wrote that an example of Apple’s attempt to avoid order includes a 27% committee for a 27% purchasing committee outside the app. Where she had not charged anything before.

The company also imposed new barriers and requirements to discourage customers to use competitive purchase platforms, she said.

In an X publication, the founder and CEO of Epic Games Tim Souini said Epic Games will return Fortnite to the American iOS app store next week and offer an olive branch to his longtime rival.

“Epic sets out a peace proposal: if Apple extends the frame without rubbing the court, without an apple without taxes around the world, we will return Fortnite to the applications store around the world and will be eliminated ongoing and future litigation on the subject,” Sweene writes.

In another publication, he wrote: “There are no web transaction fees. The Apple tax game. 15-30% Apple’s junk fees are already as dead here in the United States as in Europe under the Digital Markets Act. Illegal here, illegal there.”