Epic Games takes Apple dispute to Australian market regulator
Epic Games has taken its App Store legal dispute with Apple in Australia to the country's market regulator, according to a new report.
Credit: Epic Games
The "Fortnite" maker has told the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that Apple's "unrestrained market power" is suppressing competition and innovation, and is artificially raising the price of iPhone and iPad apps, Financial Review reported on Thursday.
According to its submission to the ACCC Digital Platforms Services Inquiry, Epic Games says that Apple is forcing App Store developers to pay a 30% "Apple tax" on the games they sell. It adds that the true commission should be closer to the single digits.
Epic Games sued Apple in Australia's Federal Court in 2020, alleging that the App Store breached multiple sections of the Competition and Consumer Act and the Australian Consumer Law.
That lawsuit claimed that Apple illegally "forces Epic (and other app developers) to only use Apple's App Store to distribute its software applications to the broad base of iOS device users, and to only use Apple's payment platform for purchases of their in-app content by iOS device users."
Apple in December 2020 asked the Australia Federal Court to toss out the lawsuit because Epic Games had promised to settle any disputes and litigation in the U.S.
Epic Games launched its campaign against Apple in 2020, after baiting the company into removing "Fortnite" from the App Store with the implementation of a direct payment system that bypassed Apple's own. That payment system was a violation of Apple's App Store guidelines.
The initial litigation, filed in the U.S. in 2020, is still ongoing. Earlier in February, a judge ruled that Apple CEO Tim Cook must undertake a seven-hour deposition in the case, which is slated to go to trial in May.
Credit: Epic Games
The "Fortnite" maker has told the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that Apple's "unrestrained market power" is suppressing competition and innovation, and is artificially raising the price of iPhone and iPad apps, Financial Review reported on Thursday.
According to its submission to the ACCC Digital Platforms Services Inquiry, Epic Games says that Apple is forcing App Store developers to pay a 30% "Apple tax" on the games they sell. It adds that the true commission should be closer to the single digits.
The ACCC was already investigating whether Apple and Google abuse their power in their respective app stores. Epic Games had previously praised the ACCC for investigating App Store market power."Apple's conduct is symptomatic of unrestrained market power that results in significant harm to Australian consumers and the competitive process. In the absence of these anticompetitive restraints, app developers would have a greater ability to distribute their apps, leading to increased competition and innovation to the benefit of Australian consumers," Epic's submission reads.
Epic Games sued Apple in Australia's Federal Court in 2020, alleging that the App Store breached multiple sections of the Competition and Consumer Act and the Australian Consumer Law.
That lawsuit claimed that Apple illegally "forces Epic (and other app developers) to only use Apple's App Store to distribute its software applications to the broad base of iOS device users, and to only use Apple's payment platform for purchases of their in-app content by iOS device users."
Apple in December 2020 asked the Australia Federal Court to toss out the lawsuit because Epic Games had promised to settle any disputes and litigation in the U.S.
Epic Games launched its campaign against Apple in 2020, after baiting the company into removing "Fortnite" from the App Store with the implementation of a direct payment system that bypassed Apple's own. That payment system was a violation of Apple's App Store guidelines.
The initial litigation, filed in the U.S. in 2020, is still ongoing. Earlier in February, a judge ruled that Apple CEO Tim Cook must undertake a seven-hour deposition in the case, which is slated to go to trial in May.
Comments
Tough. Find another platform where you can do that. It's not like that doesn't exist.
Instead of crying all the time about how Apple won't let you download apps from the internet, on to YOUR iPhone, jailbreak YOUR iPhone. It's not that hard to do. What is stopping you? It's YOUR iPhone and you can do what ever you want with it. You don't need Apple permission or their help? You don't need Apple to provide you with a switch to flip, to do this. You can do this of your own choosing.
Epic shouldn't be your hero, your heroes should be the people that write jailbreaking software and Cydia that provides a third party app store for jailbroken iPhones. They allow you do with YOUR iPhone, what Apple won't help you to do, install apps from sources, other than the Apple App Store. And you won't have to ignore any pesky warnings when installing apps from the internet, on a jailbroken iPhone.
Custom car fanatics do this all the time. Want to install wider tires on your car, than what the factory body permits? Bring your car to a custom body shop and cut the fenders out, to allow wider tires. It's your car. You can do it yourself if you have the tools and skill. The car makers are not going to stop you. Only don't expect them to honor any warranty on your suspension, when you do this.
I did this with a sunroof. One of my first used auto I bought, didn't have a sunroof and it was never a factory option. You know what I did? No, I did not go on some car forum and cried about it. I took a metal cutting jigsaw, cut a hole in the car's roof and installed a sunroof. (Granted it was a pop up version and not one that can fully slide open.) I could have easily paid a custom bodyshop do it for me, but I saved on the labor by doing it myself.
Now, go and jailbreak YOUR iPhone and then come back here and tell us what we're all missing with OUR un-jailbroken iPhones.
Apple has a monopoly on the distribution of iOS apps. The impact for the consumer is limited, he has the choice to buy an Android device, but is for the app developers the impact is huge. An app developer (and I am one) has no choice and would commit financial suicide if he neglected the iOS customer base. So whether he likes it or not, he has to accept the Apple Developer guidelines. This is not an issue for the technical related guidelines (look and feel, security, ....) but it is a big issue for the business related guidelines. E.g. can somebody explain to me why I can't give a customer who bought an app from me, a discount on one of the other apps I have developed.
The only way to get apps on to an iDevice is through the Apple App Store and its always been this way since 2008. Following the introduction of the iPhone in 2006. If the App Store is a monopoly that is subject to anti trust laws, then why haven't the government done something about it by now? And why haven't Microsoft or Sony been subject of any anti trust violations for their gaming platform stores?
It' funny how people say that Apple has a monopoly with iOS when iOS is just the platform iDevices runs on. You never hear people saying Microsoft have a monopoly with the platform that the X-Box runs on or that Sony has a monopoly with the platform that the PlayStation runs on. Of course Apple, Microsoft and Sony are going to have a monopoly with the platform they created, own and maintain, for the devices they sell. But none of the devices they sell are a monopoly in the market they are in.
iOS is not a market. Apple do not sell or market iOS. The people that buy iDevices is the market. And the iDevice they buy are not a monopoly in the mobile device market.
Look at it this way. Microsoft has a monopoly with Windows, not because they have full control of their Windows platform and developers have to accept their guidelines if they want to write software for Windows. Microsoft has monopoly with Windows because Windows in a monopoly in the computer OS market, with over a 90% share of it.
iOS in not a monopoly in the mobile device OS market. So Apple do not have a monopoly with iOS. Even if they are the sole distributers of apps on it. Saying so was the same silly argument that Epic used to justify their lawsuit against Apple for having a monopoly with their App Store and the judge told them they better come up with a better explanation than that, as that kind of logic could apply to nearly every company selling products they created and own, as having a monopoly.
Costco has full control of what products their paying members can buy in a Costco Store. They have a monopoly on the distribution of products their members can buy in their stores. Any company wishing to sell their products to Costco members must go through Costco and follow Costco guidelines. And BTW, if Costco does decide to distribute the product in their stores, they will get a cut of every product sold to their members. A company can not open their own store inside a Costco and bypass Costco guidelines, to sell their products, just because Costco has a monopoly as to what their members can buy inside a Costco. It's Costco own store, just as it's Apple iDevice, Microsoft X-Box and Sony PlayStation.