“For the second time in two years, a federal court has ruled that Apple abides by antitrust laws at the state and federal levels. In a statement, Apple said the court had handed it a “resounding victory.” In reaching its conclusion, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said Epic Games failed to show how Apple could have implemented “alternative means for Apple to accomplish the procompetitive justifications supporting iOS’s walled garden ecosystem.”Īpple grounds its app store restrictions in security and privacy rationales that differentiate the company from other mobile operating system makers such as Google, the court said, creating “a heterogenous market for app-transaction platforms which, as a result, increases interbrand competition” between iOS and Android. The decision in the case involving Epic Games, maker of the hit video game “Fortnite,” upholds a lower court ruling that found Apple is not a monopolist in the distribution of iOS apps, and that Apple did not violate antitrust laws by requiring app developers to use Apple’s proprietary in-app payment systems. A federal appeals court largely sided with Apple on Monday in a closely watched case about its app store policies, a decision that could complicate future efforts to regulate app store operators and frustrate claims that Apple behaves monopolistically.
0 kommentar(er)
