The Battle For The Internet: Epic Games v Apple Round 2

When Epic Games challenged Apple over its 30% tax on the internet, they knew they were poking a bear protecting a $20 billion cash cow. This was never going to be easy. With Round 2 about to start, Epic has a stronger hand with the Dept. of Justice on their side.

Round 2: Apple and Epic Games Go Back To Court

On Monday, November 21st, Apple and Epic Games go back to court. This time, Epic has been joined by the Department of Justice, the market regulator in the USA.

The DOJ says it’s worried that “ errors” were made by the lower-court judge, who mostly sided with Apple last year, and these may weaken its hand in future enforcement actions.

The case, which is about online marketplace policies for transactions related to apps and services, is being closely watched as US regulators continue to scrutinise big tech companies in their role as gatekeepers to the digital economy.

• In other words, if you have an iPhone, everything you do has to go through the App Store — the AppStore is the gate and it’s 100% controlled by Apple.

Earlier this week, at the James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Epic Games v. Apple, Inc. This is Round 2 of the David v Goliath battle that will have huge implications for all mobile app developers if it goes Epic’s way.

This time around, the US Department of Justice has joined Epic in saying that Apple’s insistence that iPhone owners use its App Store and in-app purchasing system is an illegal monopoly.

Both Epic and the government are arguing that US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers erred in last year’s first round court case. They say the judge was wrong when she stopped short of saying Apple operates a monopoly.

“While the Court finds that Apple enjoys considerable market share of over 55% and extraordinarily high profit margins, these…