US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers today ruled that Apple has violated a court order to better promote competition by opening up its App Store to outside payment options, reports Bloomberg.
The judge sided with Epic Games, publisher of Fortnite, who alleged that Apple failed to comply with a 2021 court order issued by Gonzalez Rogers, finding that the Cupertino firm had engaged in anticompetitive conduct in violation of California law.
Gonzalez Rogers has ordered Apple to make changes to its App Store, including banning Apple from charging commisisons on purchases made outside of the store.
The judge also instructed federal prosecutors to investigate whether Apple is in criminal contempt of court for violating her 2021 ruling.
The judge found that Apple “willfully” violated her injunction.
“It did so with the express intent to create new anticompetitive barriers which would, by design and in effect, maintain a valued revenue stream; a revenue stream previously found to be anticompetitive,” Gonzalez Rogers wrote in her ruling. “That it thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation.”
Bloomberg says Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.
