Google, Apple App Store Dominance Challenged by Supreme Court
High court rejects Google's appeal in Epic Games case, forcing an end to its mandatory 30% commission and setting a precedent that threatens Apple's lucrative model.
Google and Apple are facing a significant challenge to their highly profitable app store business models after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Google's appeal in its landmark antitrust case with Epic Games. The decision solidifies a lower court's ruling, compelling Google to dismantle its exclusive control over in-app payments on its Android platform and creating a major ripple effect for Apple.
The ruling forces Google to immediately alter its Play Store rules, which mandated that developers use its payment system and pay a commission of 15-30% on all transactions. This model, which is nearly identical to Apple's App Store policy, has been a major profit center for both tech giants. In 2023 alone, , while Apple's App Store generated nearly double that amount.
The legal battle, initiated by 'Fortnite' creator Epic Games, argued that these mandatory commissions were anti-competitive. With the Supreme Court's refusal to intervene, Google must now allow developers to implement their own third-party payment systems, potentially bypassing its commission structure entirely. , marking a pivotal moment for the app economy.
While the ruling is specific to Google, the precedent it sets casts a long shadow over Apple, which faces similar legal and regulatory challenges over its App Store policies in the U.S. and abroad. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney celebrated the news, that Google used to discourage users from making payments outside its system. For both Google and Apple, the ruling signals a new era of regulatory scrutiny that could significantly impact a business that has generated hundreds of billions in revenue.