The EU is investigating Epic Games’ Apple account ban

by Danny Craig  · 
The EU is investigating Epic Games’ Apple account ban
Epic Games

Epic Games confirmed this week that its Apple developer account had been banned, claiming that the move violated the Digital Markets Act, prompting the EU to investigate the ban.

The details:

  • Epic announced in a blog post on Wednesday that Apple had banned its account, which was approved less than a month ago and was intended to be used to bring the Epic Games Store and Fortnite to iOS in Europe. Epic called the decision "a serious violation of the DMA and shows Apple has no intention of allowing true competition on iOS devices."

  • Epic's blog post included a series of emails exchanged between CEO Tim Sweeney, EGS head Steve Allison, and Apple executive Phil Schiller. Schiller can be seen contacting Sweeney to ensure Epic is "acting in good faith," claiming that "Epic has entered into agreements with Apple and then broken them" in the past, most notably when it decided to avoid App Store fees in 2020.

  • Apple responded to the claims, claiming that it was within its rights to terminate the account in response to Epic's "past and ongoing behavior," after the court ruled that Apple had the authority to terminate any Epic-related accounts.

  • A spokesperson for the European Commission has confirmed to Reuters that it is investigating the situation and has "requested further explanations" from Apple under the Digital Markets Act. It will also assess whether the move raises "doubts about their compliance with the DSA (Digital Services Act) and the P2B (Platform to Business Regulation)."

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