Tech giants join the Apple vs. Epic case! The legal battle between Apple and Epic Games has been ongoing for quite some time. Recently, the court found Apple to be justified in most aspects. However, Apple was compelled to allow third-party payment methods within its App Store in the United States. Epic Games contested Apple's commission from developers for third-party payments and appealed the decision. Microsoft, Meta, X, and Match Group, the owner of Tinder, have expressed their support for Epic Games.
The issue of third-party payment methods escalates after the Apple vs. Epic case The case, which began when Fortnite implemented an alternative payment system to Apple's and was subsequently removed from the iOS platform, is still ongoing. Although the court issued its final decision for the Apple vs. Epic case, both companies appealed the verdict. Epic Games, in its appeal, argued that Apple obstructed third-party payment systems.
Accordingly, following the court's decision, Apple activated alternative third-party payment methods for the App Store in the USA. However, developers using these payment methods must pay Apple a 27% commission. As known, the App Store currently takes a 30% commission from every application. Epic Games believes the 3% difference between the two commission fees is not encouraging. Apple now faces issues with even more tech giants. Thus, Microsoft, Meta, X, and Match Group supported Epic Games with a petition. The tech giants involved in the Epic Games vs. Apple case unanimously agree that the commission demanded for third-party payment methods is exorbitant. Microsoft believes that Apple's recent policy does not allow companies to offer discounts to their users. Meta is forced to set much higher fees for mobile advertising payments compared to the web version. The company views Apple's commission fees as exceedingly high.
Match Group, owner of matchmaking apps like Tinder and OkCupid, and the X platform are also complaining about the commissions for alternative payment methods in the App Store. These two tech giants joined the lawsuit with a petition.
In short, the discussion on third-party payment methods that started with the Apple vs. Epic Games case has led Apple to face opposition from multiple companies.
