No Reprieve for Apple: Appeals Court Upholds Ruling To Reform App Store

The court said it was not convinced that blocking the order as per Apple’s request was appropriate, as it wouldn’t affect Apple’s appeal process or harm the company and developers.

Apple (AAPL) will have to continue displaying web links and alternate payment methods in its App Store after an appeals court denied its request to block an earlier order that mandated the change.

In April, a federal judge ordered Apple to permit web links, lift restrictions on link formatting, and let developers offer external payment methods without owing the company a share of their earnings.

Apple swiftly appealed the ruling and sought a stay of the order until the legal case concluded.

Its request is now denied. The court stated that it was not convinced that blocking the order was appropriate after weighing Apple's chances of succeeding on appeal, whether Apple would be irreparably harmed, whether other parties would be harmed if the order were halted, and what supports the public interest.

Apple is being asked to revise its App Store policies to make them fairer for developers following Epic Games' 2020 lawsuit against the company.

Over the years, top internet companies like Spotify (SPOT), and Tinder-owner Match Group have also spoken out publicly against Apple's App Store rules.

In April this year, the court noted that Apple failed to make some changes asked for in a 2021 order. Apple was handed more detailed directives, including ending a new 27% fee that Apple had imposed on app developers when their customers complete an app purchase outside the App Store, and not restricting developers from placing links to make purchases outside of an app.

Apple, in a statement, said it was "disappointed with the decision not to stay the district court’s order, and we’ll continue to argue our case during the appeals process."

Apple shares are down 19% year-to-date.

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