Epic v. Apple is about all of Big Tech
What started as a battle over Fortnite's virtual currency has put all of the large tech companies into the spotlight
Over the last few weeks, gaming company Epic has been fighting Apple in court over what it claims is anti-competitive, even monopolistic, behavior. The tech world will be watching closely to see how the judge decides to rule, but even if she rules in favor of Apple, we may still see lasting changes on the tech industry. Let’s look at what the lawsuit was about and what its effects could be.
Background
In the fall of 2020, Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, made a server-side update (meaning no app update was needed) to the mobile version of the game that allowed users to purchase V-Bucks, the game’s virtual currency, directly from Epic. Previously, users wanting to buy V-Bucks would have to do so via an in-app purchase, going through Apple’s payment system. Apple’s policy actually requires all apps to use their in-app purchases system, and also states that they will take a 30% commission on every purchase. Epic was definitely aware of this, but made this change anyway as a protest, of sorts, against Apple’s policy.
Since Epic violated the policy by circumventing Apple’s payment system, Apple removed Fortnite from the app store, and it’s still missing from the store today. Epic then immediately sued Apple, alleging that its app store policies are unfair and monopolistic. The lawsuit made its way to court and both sides made their final statements last week. We now await the judge’s decision.
Is Apple a Monopoly?
Epic was focused on establishing Apple as a monopoly. This way, they can more easily support the claim that the app store policy is anti-competitive and unfairly restrictive. Apple’s ecosystem is notoriously “closed” — FaceTime, AirDrop, those Thunderbolt ports that require a special cable, and let’s not forget about the green and blue bubbles. These can all be interpreted as anti-competitive, heck, an Apple executive literally said that Apple should keep iMessage to Apple products since introducing iMessage to Android would make it easier for people to stop buying iPhones. But Apple would say that they have plenty of competition from Android, Microsoft, etc. and that users actively choose the Apple ecosystem because of the added value and convenience.
As I mentioned, Epic doesn’t have to win this lawsuit to set forth some changes, and it’s pretty unlikely that the judge will conclude that Apple is a monopoly. But the judge may ask Apple to reduce its commission amount, which would likely cause changes in the Google Play Store as well. Furthermore, as the judge mentioned during the trial, “Apple is not just being sued by Epic," nor is it the only large tech company being sued; Facebook and Google are also facing antitrust lawsuits filed by the FTC or congress. Depending on what happens with Apple, the cases against these other companies could be much stronger and lead to even more action by the government.
Big Tech, with a capital B
Throughout history, whenever the public/government is unhappy with the large players in an industry, we just group them together as “Big X” — Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Pharma — and the newest addition is Big Tech.
Having so much power in the hands of these companies has people more and more concerned as technology becomes a larger part of our lives. I, however, have always thought that some of our frustration comes from the fact that what people want from technology doesn’t align with our expectations of how it should be implemented. We want to avoid spammy and random ads, yet we don’t want sites tracking us to provide target ads. We want to be given useful and proactive information, but we don’t want to provide access to location or calendar events. We want seamless integration between all our devices, yet we don’t want to be “locked in.”
I’m probably biased because I work in tech, trying to build tools that I hope people will find useful, but I think it’s unfair to be upset at companies just for being big and becoming intertwined with our daily lives. With that said, though, actively participating in anti-competitive behavior is obviously bad, and I understand that even the mention of “monopoly” and “Apple” together sparks heated discussions. Which is precisely why this case is being so closely watched, since even just the publicity from leaked emails or impassioned arguments is enough to erode trust and lead to change. Remember that 30% commission that Apple charges? Well, after the lawsuit was filed and anger was building up, they made changes to only take 15% from smaller app developers.
So maybe this whole thing is really just about public perception. Epic has brought Big Tech’s behaviors to the stage for all to see, and as more information comes out, things may change, for better or for worse.
Or maybe not, and I’m just crazy to think that we’ll all be so willing to give up our iPhones.