Apple loses key appeal as court upholds contempt finding in Epic App Store battle
Apple won a partial reprieve but suffered a significant setback after a US federal appeals court on Thursday largely upheld a blistering contempt ruling that accused the iPhone maker of defying orders to loosen its tight grip over payments on the App Store.
The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ April finding that Apple sidestepped a 2021 injunction requiring it to let developers direct users to alternative payment systems. The order stemmed from Epic Games’ 2020 challenge to Apple’s tightly controlled “walled garden”.
