Communications – Apple gets App Store changes in the US – Economy

San Francisco (dpa) – Apple managed at the last minute to delay a court ruling to loosen App Store rules.

A US appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Apple’s objections raise serious questions and that the iPhone company could suffer significant damage if it fails. That’s why I stopped implementing the changes that were due to go into effect on Thursday.

The dispute between Apple and Epic Games

According to a California district judge’s decision, app developers in the United States must have the right to use links or buttons to indicate payment options outside of the Apple platform for their apps. The ruling came at the beginning of September in a process between Apple and Epic Games, the company that created the online game “Fortnite”. Apple argued that the change could harm consumers and the integrity of the App Store platform.

In the process, Epic wanted to get the right to run its own App Store on the iPhone – and it failed. But District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, meanwhile, decided that Apple could no longer prevent developers from instructing users on ways to buy items more cheaply outside the App Store.

Up to 30 percent goes to Apple

Apple primarily allows the purchase of digital goods – such as virtual items in game apps – via its internal payment platform. A fee of 15 or 30 percent is due to the group. Apple argues, among other things, that the process will protect users from fraud attempts and misuse of their data. Some app developers criticize that the tax is unjustifiably high.

Apple warned that some developers, from the company’s point of view, interpreted the judge’s decision too generously and wanted full alternative payments packages behind the links. As the company argues, this could allow malicious developers to misuse user data, while Apple can’t prevent this.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211208-99-308865 / 2