Apple could be forced to ungate iPhone features in major antitrust win for developers

Apple has long used its App Review Guidelines as a way to control what features make their way to iPhones. It’s forced developers to restrict access to devices, kill certain features, or yank apps from the App Store entirely, usually over anti-competitive concerns. Now, a federal judge has ruled that those guidelines need an update.<br><br>According to the ruling, Apple will no longer be able to restrict developers from reaching out to iOS customers outside the App Store. In a nutshell, that means app developers can price their apps or subscriptions however they want outside the App Store, and they can even tell Apple device owners how to access them.<br><br>That could mean Facebook or Spotify or Netflix or a host of other apps could soon email, text, or push notification Apple device owners about options to use their services outside the App Store — and Apple won’t be able to block those communications. In fact, the court has ordered Apple to add a link to the App Store page itself, letting users know they can find more information about the app from a developer’s website.<br><br>The court ruled Apple engaged in unlawful monopolization of the iOS app distribution market, and it found that the App Review Guidelines were an unlawful restraint of trade in the market for iOS app distribution.<br><br>Apple said it would appeal the ruling to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.<br><br>“We reject these arguments and hold that the anti-steering provisions are an unreasonable restraint of trade in violation of California’s UCL and unlawful monopoly maintenance in violation of federal antitrust law,” the court wrote in the ruling.<br><br>The ruling is a major antitrust win for developers, who say they’ve been forced to pay exorbitant fees and conform to Apple’s standards in order to access the App Store.<br><br>The ruling is the latest in a long-running legal battle between Epic Games and Apple, which has been the subject of ongoing litigation for years.<br><br>In 2020, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted his support of the #FreeFortnite campaign, which was launched after Apple removed the popular game from the App Store for adding in-app purchases outside of the App Store. The move was in violation of Apple’s policies, and it was an act of defiance against Apple’s fees and control over the App Store.<br><br>The move kicked off a flurry of legal battles between Apple and Epic Games, and in 2021, the court ruled that Apple was forced to let developers use external links to subscriptions outside the App Store. However, the court ruled that Apple wasn’t forced to allow third-party app stores onto the App Store.<br><br>Apple has long said its app review process helps protect users from malware and other nefarious apps, and that it has a right to take a profit from the App Store because it spends so much to develop and maintain it.<br><br>The company also said it had done nothing wrong, and that Epic Games had repeatedly breached its developer agreements to keep dodgy apps off the App Store.<br><br>Now, a federal judge has sided with Epic Games and other developers, and ruled that Apple’s App Store guidelines are anti-competitive.<br><br>The ruling isn’t a complete win for Epic Games, though. The court also found Apple hadn’t improperly monopolized the iOS app distribution market or restrained trade in the market for iOS processing power.<br><br>But when it comes to its App Review Guidelines, Apple is being forced to take a hard look at how it polices apps.<br><br>The court also said Apple had a history of violating the Sherman Act with its App Store practices, and it ordered Apple to stop blocking access to external links in the App Store.<br><br>**TL;DR:** A federal judge ruled Apple broke antitrust laws with its App Review Guidelines and ordered the tech company to stop restricting developers from communicating alternative pricing options with Apple device owners.