A Crack in the App Economy

Apple says it won its lawsuit with Epic, but the court’s decision shows how app store gatekeepers could lose control

- By Mark Bergen, with Mark Gurman and Olga Kharif

When Apple Inc. introduced its App Store in 2008, the company’s founder and chief executive Steve Jobs had a message for iPhone app developers. “We are not trying to be business partners,” he told the New York Times. Jobs meant that developers didn’t have to feel threatened because Apple’s main business was selling phones, not taking 30% commissions on app sales. But the comment could be interpreted very differently today when many developers—and government officials—see Apple less as a partner negotiating in good faith than as a feudal lord levying an unavoidable tax.

On Sept. 10 a federal judge partially vindicated the critical view of the company by ruling it had to allow app developers to direct users to web payment systems to complete transactions. The decision stems from a feud with Epic Games Inc., the creator of the smash-hit Fortnite, over whether it could use its own billing service within the game, skirting Apple’s standard fee. When Epic did so over Apple’s objections the phonemaker removed Fortnite from its app store, and Epic sued.