On 5 June, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed Apple ‘ s motion for a stay of execution of the Epic Gomes decision, which required Apple to lift all restrictions on online payments and the transmission of information in applications, thereby circumventing the 30 per cent commission charged by App Store.
Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney wrote in social media X: “The Ninth Circuit Court denied Apple’s application for a stay. The long national nightmare created by the Apple Tax has finally come to an end! May next week WWDC be the long-awaited freedom celebration for developers and users.”
In October 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple’s App Store policy violated California’s unfair competition law and prohibited apple developers from providing external payment links to users. Apple then applied for a stay of execution on the grounds that more time was needed to adjust the operational and technical framework of App Store and that external payment links could compromise user safety and privacy.
In April 2025, the Federal Court of California again ruled that Apple had to lift App Store’s restrictions on web-page payments and user communication, marking the ability of developers to use external web-page payments and freely direct users to third-party purchase channels. One week after the decision was issued, Apple applied for a stay of execution and postponed the return of Fortress Night to App Store for lack of policy clarity. However, on 4 June, the Court dismissed Apple’s request for an extension, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stated in its judgement that “after examination of the relevant factors, we find the stay unreasonable”. The Court emphasized that apples had sufficient time to prepare and that user safety could be addressed by reasonable technical measures.
(Documents of court decisions)
Apple spokesman stated to The Verge: “We are disappointed at the decision not to suspend the local court ‘ s decision and will continue to argue in the appeal proceedings. We strongly oppose the judgement of the local courts, and the goal is always to ensure that App Store provides an excellent platform for developers and that users are protected by a safe and credible experience.”
According to data published by Apple’s official blog, the Apple Store’s cumulative collection in 2024 amounted to $40.6 billion, of which no development commission was charged for over 90 per cent of the transactions through App Store’s store. Analysts estimate that external payment options may reduce the commission revenue of apples by 10-20 per cent, particularly for small and medium-sized developers, who can attract users through low-cost payment platforms.
According to industry observers, the ruling would force Apple to adjust the App Store policy before the WWDC developer conference on 10 June, releasing about $18 billion per year in third-party payment space for global developers.