35 states have commented on their support for Epic Games in its ongoing legal battle with tech giant Apple. A letter signed by dozens of state attorneys general to a California appeals court reads: Apple’s conduct has harmed and is harming mobile app-developers and millions of citizens.”
Reuters reports that the attorneys general for 35 states told a California appeals court this week that tech giant Apple is stifling competition with its monopoly on app distribution via the company’s iOS App Store. In a joint statement submitted into the ongoing appeals process in the Epic v. Apple lawsuit which Breitbart News has reported on extensively, the attorneys general appeared to side with the Fortnite game developer.
Fortnite police car (Epic Games/Screenshot)
Tim _Apple_ Cook testifying via TV (Pool/Getty)
Reuters reports that the letter from the attorneys general reads:
Apple’s conduct has harmed and is harming mobile app-developers and millions of citizens.
Meanwhile, Apple continues to monopolize app distribution and in-app payment solutions for iPhones, stifle competition, and amass supracompetitive profits within the almost trillion-dollar-a-year smartphone industry.
It was further reported by the Financial Times that the DOJ has challenged last year’s ruling against Epic, stating in its own submissions that the court had “committed several legal errors that could imperil effective antitrust enforcement, especially in the digital economy.”
The DOJ stated that the court had interpreted the Sherman Act “narrowly and wrongly, in ways that would leave many anti-competitive agreements and practices outside their protections.” The Sherman Act is an 1890 law prohibiting anti-competitive behavior.
The decision from the judge presiding over the case last year primarily ruled against Epic, although Apple and Epic Games have both decided to appeal the original ruling as neither were happy with the result. Epic Games is attempting to force Apple to support third-party App Stores, which so far has not happened.
It was ruled by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers that the 15 to 30 percent App Store tax that Apple places on iOS developers did not violate antitrust law.
Read more at Reuters here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.