New information from Apple contradicts Tim Sweeney's previous statement that he was not seeking a "special deal" with the App Store.
“On June 30, 2020, Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney wrote my colleagues and me an email asking for a ‘side letter’ from Apple that would create a special deal for only Epic that would fundamentally change the way in which Epic offers apps on Apple’s iOS platform,” said former Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller.
And yet, Apple is one of the most anticompetitive companies out there - the European Commission launched an antitrust investigation about this just 2 months ago.
And it's not like Apple hasn't given 'special deals' to platforms before. Apple offered Amazon a 15% fee instead of 30% -- and news publishers are pissed.
The emails in question that led to Epic's App Store ban are available here. They reveal that Schiller's quote that Epic Games demanded a "special deal" doesn't tell the full story.
The full paragraph is quoted below:
"As you know, Epic was required to accept your standard, non-negotiable contracts, like the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, in order to offer products on iOS devices through the iOS App Store. Epic is also required to comply with Apple’s unilateral standards documents to obtain app approval, like Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines. Apple’s contracts and standards documents contain restrictive provisions that prohibit Epic from offering a competing app store and competing payment processing options to consumers. Apple would need to provide a side letter or alter its contracts and standards documents to remove such restrictions to allow Epic to provide a competing app store and competing payment processing option to iOS customers."
Meanwhile, in a court filing, Apple just compared Epic to a shoplifter: "If developers can avoid the digital checkout, it is the same as if a customer leaves an Apple retail store without paying for shoplifted product: Apple does not get paid."
For more from Pando, sign up to our weekly newsletter.
Author: Aimee Pearcy
Source : https://pando.com/2020/08/21/apple-slams-epic-games-being-anticompetitive/
Date : 2020-08-21T08:00:00.000Z