The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a lower court’s finding that Apple was in civil contempt for violating a 2021 injunction meant to curb the company’s anticompetitive practices by allowing consumers to make app purchases outside the Apple App Store. The three-judge panel ruled unanimously that Apple’s actions—charging a 27% commission on developer websites and imposing restrictions on external purchase links—demonstrated clear and convincing evidence of contempt.
The court agreed with U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ April ruling that Apple’s high commission effectively discouraged developers from offering alternative payment options, while a “scare screen” warning users about potential privacy and security risks on external websites further prevented outside purchases. “Apple designed the scare screen to prevent external purchases,” the panel noted, highlighting the company’s efforts to manipulate the user experience to maintain App Store revenue. The panel, however, reversed a portion of the contempt sanctions that forbade Apple from charging any commission, calling it closer to a punitive measure rather than civil enforcement. The other judges on the panel were Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Sidney Thomas and Chief U.S. District Judge Michael McShane, sitting by designation. Apple and Epic Games had no immediate comment on the ruling.
The injunction stems from Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit against Apple, which largely favored Apple in prior rulings but required the company to provide developers the ability to steer users to external payment systems. Evidence presented during the contempt proceedings showed Apple imposed new fees and engineered user warnings to limit outside purchases. Apple argued it complied with the injunction and contended that the zero-commission mandate was punitive and overbroad, while the court found the company’s measures were designed to thwart the intent of the original order.