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A judge has ruled against Apple's motion for a stay and ordered the company to allow third-party payment options through its App Store by December 9, 2021.
You'd be forgiven for forgetting the Apple vs. Epic lawsuit is still ongoing. A lot has happened since Apple and Google banned Fortnite from its respective online stores, including the advancement of the argument that Apple's App Store should allow third-party payment options. That is effectively what kicked this whole thing off after all.
There has been a major step forward in that regard this week. The judge presiding over the case has denied Apple's motion for a stay, ordering that it must allow developers to include links to other payment options starting from December 9, 2021. Apple motioned for a stay, claiming it would need more time to put guidelines in place for such a change, but judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has denied the request.
“Apple’s motion is based on a selective reading of this Court’s findings and ignores all of the findings which supported the injunction,” Rogers order states. “It is exceedingly complicated. There have to be guardrails and guidelines to protect children, to protect developers, to protect consumers, to protect Apple,” Apple attorney Mark Perry claimed. However, Rogers appears to believe the only party her order will truly affect is Apple.
“The party who would benefit primarily from a stay pending all resolution of all appeals is Apple,” the order reads. “Apple has provided no credible reason for the Court to believe that the injunction would cause the professed devastation.” Should the order come to pass a month from now, developers will be able to add links letting users pay them directly, circumventing the cut of the profits Apple takes.
That is still currently if rather than when despite the judge's order. Apple has already made it clear that it plans to appeal this decision to the Ninth Circuit which could result in it getting a stay after all. Even if the Ninth Circuit upholds Rogers decision, Apple can then appeal to the SCOTUS. A lot of time and effort, but probably time and effort Apple will be willing to exert to get what it wants.