Meta, Microsoft, Match Group And Spotify Join Epic Fight Against Apple's App Store Fees

Epic Games is getting some powerful new allies in its years long legal battle with Apple, as several technology companies including Silicon Valley giants Microsoft and Meta join the fray. The companies filed an amicus brief in support of Epics Games in federal court a few days after Epic Games filed a motion asking the court to hold Apple in contempt alongside enforcing an injunction.

This all goes back to the decision originally reached in 2021 by federal judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. In her decision she ruled that Apple must allow developers the ability to use “buttons, external links, or other calls to action” so that they can inform users of payment options available outside of any particular app. This is a big sticking point for developers because in-app payments require paying up to a 30% fee to Apple.


The companies are claiming that Apple is not in compliance with the order issued in 2021, stating in the amicus brief that “Apple’s new restrictions are plainly designed to render alternatives to Apple’s IAP impractical for developers, and inaccessible and unappealing to consumers, thus circumventing both the spirit and underlying goals of the injunction.” Meanwhile, Epic Games went a step further stating that Apple is in “blatant violation” of the order and is requesting the judge enforce it.

This behavior is nothing new from Apple, as it did something similar in Europe following the passage of the European Digital Markets Act. It even went so far as to ban Epic Games’ developer account, claiming that it was "verifiably untrustworthy." Of course, Apple ended up backtracking on this decision after European regulators stepped in shortly after.

Apple has been speed running upsetting the very developers that have played a large role in making the iPhone such a success. It’s hard to tell just how much Apple can push developers before it completely poisons the well. Although so long as Apple has its huge market share, especially among younger users in the United States, it will feel like it can keep throwing its weight around. Regulators might be the only ones able to rein in this behavior.