Apple is not living up to the letter or spirit of an order issued by a California federal judge in its trial against Epic Games. That’s what Meta, Microsoft, Match Group, and X told the court in an amicus brief on Wednesday. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers told Apple in 2021 that it could not prevent app developers from using “buttons, external links, or other calls to action” informing users of payment options outside of their apps.
But it’s notable that other large developers, like Meta and Microsoft, have decided to weigh in now and shows that Apple’s rules can impact even the largest of tech companies. The amici say that Apple’s 12 to 27 percent fee on external purchases defeats the purpose of the new requirement since it’s only a few percentage points below what developers would otherwise be required to pay for in-app purchases.