Apple must begin allowing links to alternative payment systems in the App Store on December 9. The company had asked for a postponement in Epic’s lawsuit, but has not received this from the judge.
With the ruling, Apple must allow developers to name alternative payment methods from December 9. At the moment, developers are not allowed to refer in their apps to the option of taking out a subscription via a website, for example. The judge recently ruled that Apple should allow this. Apple appealed that ruling. The company asked the judge not to allow the mandatory changes to the App Store rules until after that appeal had been completed. However, that could take years.
The judge in the case says that Apple could not properly demonstrate why it wanted a postponement for the changes. Apple would interpret the earlier ruling too selectively and thereby damage competition, the judge says, according to American media. Apple would also deliberately ask for a postponement so that it would not have to comply with the rules for a long time.
The ruling comes in the lengthy lawsuit that Epic Games filed against Apple. The game developer demands that Apple allow alternative payment methods and app stores on iOS. This would allow developers to bypass the mandatory commission for in-app purchases. Earlier, Epic itself already appealed against the judge’s ruling. He agreed with Apple in most areas, and concluded that the company does not have a monopoly position and therefore does not have to support alternative app stores.