The battle between Apple and Epic Games continues.
Sarah Tew/Crumpe
Apple on Thursday won support in its case for control of its App Store. In a series of documents related to Apple’s ongoing lawsuit against Fortnite maker Epic Games, a group of former national security officials, developers and corporate advocacy groups have said courts should not stand in the way of Apple’s approach to managing apps on its iPhones and iPads.
The briefs, more than a dozen in total, reflected many of Apple’s concerns that have been raised since it was sued by Epic for processing payments on its App Store. Apple says it should be allowed to moderate and control which apps can and can’t be offered on an iPhone. According to Epic, Apple’s approach is stifling competition.
A filing signed by former defense officials and heads of US government agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the National Security Council, told the court that forcing changes to Apple’s App Store led to security problems such as malware and spyware could lead .
As Apple argued, the group said consumers should have a choice to buy products with a stronger approach to security. “If Epic prevailed, competition for higher quality device security would be stifled and courts would be forced into undesirable regulatory stances that would open the door to greater exposure to security threats,” the group wrote.
Hit online game Roblox has written that its support for Apple comes from concerns about its many underage users. “Apple’s process for reviewing and approving apps available on the App Store improves security and gives those apps greater legitimacy in the eyes of users,” Roblox wrote. “This is a significant benefit that all apps, including Roblox’s, enjoy when they choose to be part of the Apple ecosystem.”
Epic declined to comment beyond its previously filed arguments.
The briefings follow a series of arguments made by Epic and Apple when they appealed a California district judge’s ruling last year that broadly agreed with Apple’s arguments that it did not violate antitrust laws. The case is currently before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Continue reading: Apple Wins Legal Victory Over Epic in Fortnite Lawsuit: What You Need to Know
The two companies began suing each other in August 2020 when Apple kicked Fortnite out of its app store over a disagreement over its payment processing systems. Apple requires developers who sell digital items, such as For example, new looks for characters in a game, they use their payment processing systems and pay commissions of between 15% and 30%, which Apple says helps fund the technology and run its business.
The case and its appeals process, which is expected to run next year, have drawn the attention of the tech industry, lawmakers, legal scholars and policy experts in hopes that the case will help lay the groundwork for updated approaches to antitrust laws, or possibly solidify those already in the books.
In the course of the case, Epic has also found defenders. Microsoft, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and 35 states backed the Fortnite maker in January, saying in their legal documents that “Apple’s conduct has harmed and harmed mobile app developers and millions of citizens.”
Continue reading: Epic’s battle with Apple takes a turn as 35 states endorse the Fortnite maker
The attorneys general further argued that Apple has monopolized the app distribution and payment solutions built into iPhones, allowing it “to amass above-average profits in the smartphone industry, which accounts for nearly $1 trillion a year.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta expressed concerns about the case on Thursday, but did not take a clear side. Instead, he argued that the California Supreme Court should consider how his state’s unfair competition law should apply to the case. The law “has protected countless Californians from illegal, unfair and fraudulent business practices,” he wrote. “It is critical that, regardless of the outcome of this particular dispute, the Ninth Court interprets the law correctly.” California is not only Apple’s home, but also where the Fortnite case was filed.
The Justice Department expressed its own concerns about the case in a filing earlier this year, but took no sides. The department wrote that the district court “made several errors of law that could jeopardize effective antitrust enforcement, particularly in the digital economy.” The DOJ specifically pointed to the court’s interpretation of the Sherman Act, a key US antitrust law of 1890, saying it had been interpreted “narrowly and incorrectly.”
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