US Supreme Court declines to pause order holding Apple in contempt in Epic Games lawsuit

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

WASHINGTON, May 6 : The U.S. Supreme Court rejected on Wednesday Apple's request to temporarily block a judicial order that found the iPhone maker in violation of sweeping court-mandated changes to its lucrative App Store as part of an antitrust lawsuit by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games.8

Justice Elena Kagan, on behalf of the court, declined to pause a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that deemed Apple in contempt in the Epic lawsuit contesting App Store fees. Apple had sought the delay to give it time to file a full Supreme Court appeal of the 9th Circuit decision.

Apple and Epic have clashed for years over the rules governing Apple's App Store. The contempt ruling and the scope of Apple's court-ordered obligations are the latest issues in the dispute to reach the Supreme Court. Apple has said the 9th Circuit decision would affect how millions of app purchases are made.

Epic Games won the contempt order last year as part of litigation it brought in 2020 seeking to loosen Apple's control over transactions in applications that use the company's iOS operating system and its restrictions on how apps are distributed to consumers.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

Apple mostly defeated Epic's lawsuit, but was required in a 2021 court injunction to let developers include links in their apps directing users to non-Apple payment methods.

Apple allowed the links but adopted new restrictions, including a 27 per cent commission on developers for purchases made on payment systems outside the App Store within seven days of clicking a link. Apple charges developers a 30 per cent commission for purchases within the App Store.

Epic argued that the new 27 per cent commission flouted the earlier injunction. In 2025, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in civil contempt for violating the injunction.

The 9th Circuit in December upheld the judge's contempt finding but allowed Apple to make new arguments about what commission it should be allowed to charge for digital goods bought in apps distributed through the App Store but paid for using third-party payment systems.

Apple has denied violating the judge's order and has argued that the injunction should not be applied to millions of developers beyond Epic Games.

"Regulators around the world are watching this case to determine what commission rate Apple may charge on covered purchases in huge markets outside the United States," Apple told the Supreme Court in a filing. 

Epic has argued that Apple should not be allowed to sidestep the judge's original injunction, saying this would "give Apple more time to continue unfairly profiting at the expense of consumers and app developers."

Newsletter

Week in Review

Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review

Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here