Supreme Court Denies Request To Immediately Implement App Store Ruling In Apple Dispute

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday dealt Epic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game, a setback in its legal battle against Apple, refusing to uphold a federal judge’s order that could force the iPhone maker to change payment practices in its lucrative App Store.

Liberal Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied Epic’s request to reverse a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that effectively delayed the enforcement of an order issued by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers banning certain App Store rules. while Apple continues to appeal to the Supreme Court.

In April, the 9th Circuit upheld the injunction, but in July suspended the decision. Kagan handles Supreme Court emergencies arising from a number of states, including California.

Epic filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2020, accusing Apple of acting as an illegal monopoly by requiring consumers to get apps from its App Store and purchase digital content within the app using its own system – for which it charges up to a 30% commission.

In 2021, Rogers dismissed Epic’s antitrust claims against Apple. However, the judge found that Apple violated California’s unfair competition by preventing developers from “directing” users to make digital purchases that bypass Apple’s in-app system, allowing Epic to save money with lower fees.

The judge’s injunction required Apple to allow app developers to provide links and buttons that direct consumers to other ways to pay for digital content they use in their apps.

Seeking to stay the injunction while it prepares an appeal to the Supreme Court, Apple told the 9th Circuit that Rogers had erred in barring it from applying its rules against all app developers in the United States, not just Epic.

“Apple must change its business model to comply with the order before the judicial review is completed,” the company told the 9th Circuit. “The undisputed evidence shows that the ban limits Apple’s ability to protect users from fraud, scams, malware, spyware and inappropriate content.”

Epic told the Supreme Court that the 9th Circuit’s standard for staying cases is “too lenient.”