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A US judge has sharply rebuked Apple, accusing the tech giant of deliberately breaching a court order designed to reduce its dominance over the App Store’s payment system—potentially to the extent that criminal charges could be considered.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the US District Court ruled on Wednesday that Apple had “wilfully” defied an injunction she had issued following a high-profile legal battle with Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite. The judge stated that rather than complying, Apple introduced fresh obstacles that stifled competition and even misled the court.
“The notion that this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation,” she wrote, adding that Epic was now permitted to enforce the injunction against Apple. “As always, the cover-up made it worse. For this court, there is no second bite at the apple.”
The dispute began in 2021 when Epic Games filed a lawsuit challenging Apple’s control over the App Store, accusing the company of running a monopoly on digital content and services sold through its platform. Although Gonzalez Rogers initially ruled that Apple did not operate a monopoly, she did find that the company must allow developers to direct users to external websites for purchases, bypassing Apple’s commission.
The judge had also criticised Apple’s 30 percent commission as enabling “supracompetitive operating margins,” branding the fees anticompetitive. But according to her latest ruling, Apple responded to the injunction by continuing to charge commissions on external purchases and erecting new barriers, such as warning messages—labelled “scare screens”—designed to deter users from making transactions outside its App Store.
“Ultimately, Apple chose to preserve a revenue stream worth billions of dollars, directly flouting this court’s order,” the judge wrote. She added that Apple’s internal communications showed clear awareness of the impact of its actions, contradicting earlier courtroom claims. “At every turn, Apple chose the most anticompetitive route.”
An Apple spokesperson responded by saying the company “strongly disagrees” with the court’s findings and intends to appeal, though it would comply in the meantime.
Meanwhile, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney declared that Apple’s “15-30 percent junk fees” were effectively finished in the US, just as they are in the EU under the Digital Markets Act. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), he also offered a “peace proposal,” saying Epic would drop all current and future litigation if Apple rolled out the court-ordered framework globally.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers has urged the US Attorney’s office to investigate whether criminal contempt charges should be brought against Apple, to address what she called past misconduct and to prevent further defiance.
