Building on yesterday's Ninth Circuit decision upholding Apple's contempt violation in the Epic Games iOS payments case, the court detailed the tech giant's breaches while permitting reasonable security fees. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney declared the 'Apple Tax' dead in the US, but highlighted developers' fears of retaliation.
The appeals court affirmed District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' April ruling that Apple's 27% fee on external payments violated her 2021 injunction by having a prohibitive effect. It also struck down Apple's overly broad design restrictions on external payment links, requiring similar presentation for fairness, and rejected claims of good-faith compliance based on internal discussions dismissing alternatives.
While the district court banned all outside-payment fees, the Ninth Circuit allowed Apple to charge reasonable amounts tied to actual user security and privacy costs, with the exact figure TBD.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney celebrated on social media: “The 9th Circuit Court has confirmed: The Apple Tax is dead in the USA. This is the beginning of true, untaxed competition in payments worldwide on iOS.” He proposed minimal fees, like tens or hundreds of dollars per app update for scam checks.
Sweeney noted developer hesitancy due to retaliation fears, such as delayed reviews or reduced App Store visibility: “The sad truth is everybody’s afraid of Apple,” calling it illegal soft power. He predicted rapid adoption of alternatives like Epic's Web Shops by end-2026.
Apple has not commented.
