Epic Games and Apple outlined their arguments in a dispute over Apple’s control of the App Store before an antitrust trial set to begin next month through their own separate legal filings, CNBC reported.
Apple will contend that its 30% commission basically matches that of digital stores such as Google Play or shops for video game hardware, while its fee has fallen over time. It will also contend, among other arguments, that its policies have brought about a boom in the software sector and led to more security and safety for users.
However, Epic will contend that Apple manages the single avenue to install software on an iPhone by the way of the App Store. It will also argue that Apple harnesses its Apple Review workflow for anti-competitive ends, among other claims.
Epic Games, which is renowned for its Fortnite program, has been in a legal disagreement with Apple since 2020, when Epic Games attempted to steer clear of Apple’s 30% App Store commission via a technology update that avoided Apple’s payments infrastructure. Apple, in turn, removed Fortnite from its App Store.
In March, news surfaced that Epic Games is suing Google in Australia over allegedly anti-competitive behavior that contravenes the nation’s antitrust rules. “Google gives the illusion of being open by making arguments about the presence of alternative app stores on its platform or allowing direct downloading of apps from third-party providers, but in reality, these situations are so rare that they barely make a dent in the monopoly of the Android OS,” Tim Sweeney, Epic founder and chief executive officer, wrote in a March blog post.
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