Apple Inc. has just filed an emergency motion. They’re asking for a partial stay on a recent U.S. court ruling that ordered them to make sweeping changes to their App Store payment policies. This motion comes after a years-long legal battle with Epic Games. Under that agreement, Apple essentially won the case in the court’s ruling favoring Epic, with the court ordering Apple to allow app developers to link to outside payment systems.
In 2021, a federal court ordered that Apple remove this discriminatory practice, an order which Apple has still failed to fulfill. This ruling may force Apple to enable these features in its U.S. App Store apps. These features need to encourage users to switch to other payment methods that operate entirely outside of Apple’s ecosystem. On top of that, Apple is now prohibited from earning commissions on payments processed through these outside systems. Before this ruling, Apple extorted developers a 27% tax on transactions made outside of its ecosystem.
The court ordered Apple to permanently refrain from displaying “scare screens.” These unsolicited pop-up messages, warning users about the dangers of using in-app purchase methods outside of Apple’s ecosystem. Even after allowing these external transactions, Apple still publicly displayed these warnings, which many have argued were misleading at best.
Specifically, Apple contends that compliance with the court’s ruling would result in billions of dollars in lost profits. In its emergency motion, the company underscored the irreversible harm it would suffer if it didn’t get a stay on the Commission’s ruling.
“Without a stay, these extraordinary intrusions into Apple’s business will cause grave irreparable harm.” – Apple
Additionally, Apple argues that the remedies the court has ordered are punitive in nature rather than the product of any illegal behavior.
“These restrictions, which will cost Apple substantial sums annually, are based on conduct that has never been adjudicated to be (and is not) unlawful; rather, they were imposed to punish Apple for purported non-compliance with an earlier state-law injunction that is itself invalid.” – Apple
Whether it’s Apple or app developers that ultimately prevail in this ongoing litigation, the stakes for both parties are high. This result has the potential to reshape app payment and commission models across the entire industry. It could help spur broader adoption of outside payment systems.