A US court judge today banned Apple from preventing app developers from giving users the option to make payments outside the App Store ecosystem. The order, effective immediately, was issued as a result of a 2020 lawsuit filed by Epic Games against Apple. So, what should you know about it?

For your information, Apple is also not allowed to collect payments if users make payments outside the App Store, as is done in European Union (EU) countries. They are also no longer allowed to prevent developers from informing users that there are alternative payment systems other than the App Store.

Additionally, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has already issued a statement saying Fortnite will return to the App Store as early as next week. He also promised that Epic Games would drop current and future litigation if Apple complies with the court's order. Epic Games sued Apple and Google after Fortnite was removed from the App Store and Play Store in 2021. The reason Apple and Google gave was that V-Buck purchases that bypassed their payment ecosystem violated the app store's terms and conditions.

Just a few weeks ago, Apple was fined €500 million (RM 2.45 billion) by the European Commission (EC) for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple's action of charging €0.50 for each app install through third-party stores was found to be in violation of the DMA.

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