Skip to main content

Following a recent federal court ruling that ordered Apple to cease collecting fees on purchases made outside of the App Store, the tech giant is facing ongoing repercussions. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found that Apple had been exploiting loopholes to bypass her previous judgment against the company from 2021. In response, companies are quickly adapting their payment systems to operate outside of Apple’s controlled environment, with Spotify submitting an updated app to Apple to implement these changes.

The latest App Store update, version 9.0.40, now includes external links for subscription purchases, allowing Spotify to promote lower prices and different tiers without surrendering nearly a third of its revenue from these sales to Apple. This change also paves the way for content-specific microtransactions, such as audiobooks, to take place outside the app. According to Spotify, this update aims to create “seamless buying opportunities that will directly benefit creators.”

In a statement on its website, Spotify expressed frustration that it took this long for Apple to comply with the previous court order in the Epic Games case, which dealt with the same issue. The statement reads in part: “The fact that we haven’t been able to deliver these basic services, which were permitted by the judge’s order four years ago, is absurd. The ruling made it clear that Apple deliberately abused its market power to intentionally harm others and benefit only itself.”

Epic Games, the company that initiated the court case, celebrated its win by announcing a limited zero-commission policy for games sold through the Epic Games Store. The company also announced the launch of EGS Webshops next month to support out-of-app purchases.

Although Apple has stated that it with the judge’s ruling, the company also plans to appeal the decision. This development comes on the heels of a separate ruling in UK courts, where Apple has been ordered to pay over $500 million in damages to Optis, marking a busy week for Apple’s legal team.


Source Link