Epic vs. Apple & Google: Who is in the right? - D H

D H

Aug 15 · Last update 1 mo. ago.

Epic Games, whose incredibly successful game ‘Fortnite’ has been recently banned from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store following payment system violations, are taking the tech giants to court in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California over issues of antitrust and anticompetitive behaviour. This issue has long been argued over between Epic Games and the two biggest iOS app stores, since 2017 Epic have questioned the need for Apple and Google to take a huge 30% revenue sharing cut from game developers, Epic have argued that 8% should be sufficient to run a digital application store. These lawsuits feed into a larger debate around the business practices and economic ethics of the world’s largest tech giants. But in the Epic vs. Apple & Epic vs. Google legal cases, who is right?

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Epic Games have long petitioned online app stores to negotiate their astronomical rates, but this particular dispute started following Epic’s implementation of a new in-game payment system in ‘Fornite’, to bypass App Store fees. Apple and Google responding by blocking Fortnite, to which Epic fought back with a #FreeFortnite social media campaign, comparing Apple to Big Brother from George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, and following up with a 62-page legal complaint and lawsuit. According to Epic CEO Tim Sweeney this law suit isn’t about money but developer and consumer freedom, rules that bar developers from using third-party payment systems, as well as restrictions banning developers from distributing software directly to consumers. This is not the first time this issue has been directed at Apple, the company lost a Supreme Court ruling in 2019 when four iPhone users sued over Apple's 30% commission charge to app developers, claiming it is often passed on to consumers, with no competition or alternative to the App Store.

theverge.com/2020/8/14/21369622/epic-ceo-tim-sweeney-apple-fortnite-lawsuit-ban-basic-freedoms-developers youtube.com/watch?v=euiSHuaw6Q4 npr.org/2019/05/13/722831702/supreme-court-rules-against-apple-as-kavanaugh-sides-with-liberal-justices

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D H

Aug 16

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