Tech giants can take heart in a federal appeals court ruling issued Monday, which found that Apple does not violate antitrust laws with its App Store policies. The 9th Circuit of Appeals ruled, as a lower court had, that Epic Games did not prove Apple committed anticompetitive behavior, the Washington Post reports. Epic is the maker of Fortnite. The decision would seem to be a setback for government efforts against what regulators consider monopolistic behavior in Silicon Valley. The Department of Justice has looked into the App Store policies for years, and some such cases are in progress. Consumers can buy iPhone apps only through the App Store.
"For the second time in two years, a federal court has ruled that Apple abides by antitrust laws at the state and federal levels," a spokesperson said, per CNBC. The court acknowledged the larger debate over regulatory issues but said its job was just to decided the Epic-Apple case. The court did rule against Apple on another aspect, backing a lower court ruling that requiring developers to use Apple's payment processing service, and not letting them inform consumers about cheaper methods, violated California competition laws. The company suggested Monday it might fight that ruling.
Congress has considered but not passed legislation to affect the Apple practices. In Europe, the Digital Markets Act will make the company let developers install alternative payment systems. Epic argued it was representing the developer ecosystem with its lawsuit, companies that have objected to Apple's fees and rules for years. The suit was filed after Apple kicked Epic out of the App Store for introduced its own payment system into Fortnite. Monday's ruling indicates Apple's control is unlikely to be affected by Epic's challenge. The game maker did not comment on the decisions. (More Apple stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
