Thu, 01 May 2025

Thu, 01 May 2025 Apple referred for possible criminal contempt investigation

The tech giant had been ordered in 2021 to allow greater competition and open the App Store up to outside payment options.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has found that Apple wilfully violated her previous injunction in a case brought by Epic Games, and that top executive Alex Roman "outright lied under oath". The judge's 2021 injunction had blocked Apple from anti-competitive conduct and pricing on the App Store, allowing outside payment options. However, Judge Rogers says Apple continued to interfere with competition despite this ruling. Internal company documents show that Apple deliberately chose anticompetitive options, and CEO Tim Cook was aware of these decisions. The judge is referring the matter to the US Attorney for Northern District of California to investigate whether a criminal contempt proceeding is appropriate. Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney has responded by offering a "peace proposal" to return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide if Apple extends the court's friction-free framework globally.
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