US judge digs into Apple’s app store policies as Epic Games trial ends
- On the final day of the trial, US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers did not seem convinced that Apple is running a monopoly
- But the judge also indicated she would like to promote more competition in Apple’s online store
US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is not likely to issue a decision until this summer. But she opened a window into her thoughts during a three-hour session with lawyers for Apple and its adversary, Epic Games, during the final day of a three-week trial in Oakland, California.
Gonzalez Rogers’ line of questioning suggested she sides with much of the defence that Apple has mounted to justify the 15 per cent to 30 per cent commissions it collects for in-app transactions on the iPhone to help pay for the technology powering its devices.
Epic Games, creator of the popular video game Fortnite, has been trying to prove the fees are the price-gouging tool of a monopoly hatched within the “walled garden” Apple has built around the iPhone, the App Store, its software and other devices such as the iPad.
To loosen Apple’s tight-fisted control, Epic wants Gonzalez Rogers to issue an order that would require Apple to open the iPhone and its other mobile products to rival app stores. Those alternatives would include Epic’s still-unprofitable app store, which charges a commission of just 12 per cent.
