*A US Federal Judge finds Apple had ‘willfully chosen not to comply’ with an earlier injunction requiring the technology company to loosen its App Store鈥檚 stranglehold on payments and subscriptions

Gbenga Kayode | 绿帽献妻

For allegedly obstructing court orders to maintain App Store dominance, a United States (US) Federal Judge has slammed Apple, a global technology giant, for willfully defying App Store antitrust ruling, and referred the matter for criminal contempt investigation.

绿帽献妻 gathered the Judge particularly accused Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and other Executives of the tech company of obstructing the court orders on maintain App Store dominance.

New ruling now forces Apple to allow app developers alternative payment links and bans related fees

In a stunning legal escalation, a Federal Judge has referred Apple to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation, accusing the tech giant of deliberately defying a court order tied to its App Store practices, agency report said.

On Apple’s creation of new anticompetitive barriers

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, overseeing the long-running case between Apple and Epic Games, ruled late Wednesday, April 30, 2025, that Apple had 鈥渨illfully chosen not to comply鈥� with an earlier injunction requiring the company to loosen its App Store鈥檚 stranglehold on payments and subscriptions.

Judge Rogers, in a sharply worded decision, wrote: 鈥淎pple created new anticompetitive barriers with the express intent of thwarting this court鈥檚 order.”

The court decision directly criticised CEO Cook and accused another executive, Alex Roman, of lying under oath, Wall Street Journal report said.

Epic鈥檚 win, Apple鈥檚 setback

Report also indicates the latest ruling stemmed from Epic鈥檚 2021 lawsuit, which accused Apple of monopolistic behaviour over its tight control of the App Store ecosystem.

While the original verdict largely favoured Apple, the court ordered the tech company to let developers direct users to alternative payment methods鈥攁 critical win for app makers.

It was also learnt that the recent order made that ruling ironclad: Apple must stop blocking developers from steering users to outside payment options and can no longer impose fees when users make purchases outside the App Store.

Gonzalez Rogers said: “Apple鈥檚 continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated.

“This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order.”

Likewise, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney hailed the decision as 鈥渁 huge victory for developers.鈥�

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