Microsoft has claimed that Apple’s “potential antitrust issues stretch far beyond gaming.” In an amicus brief in support of Epic Games, reported on and shared by AppleInsider, the company said it “brings a unique – and balanced – perspective to the legal, economic, and technological issues this case implicates.”
Microsoft Backs Fortnite-Maker Epic Games Against Apple
The document refers to Apple as “the dominant provider of U.S. smartphones and mobile operating systems” and says as well as gaming, “online commerce and interpersonal connection funnels significantly, and sometimes predominantly, through iOS devices.” It also notes that since the introduction of App Track Transparency, which changed how third-party apps can track iPhone users, “Apple’s advertising revenue has grown rapidly.”
In its submission Microsoft argued:
The legal issues implicated by this appeal pose significant risks to competition across the economy, far beyond gaming and in-app payments. A broad ruling for Apple could leave little room for a limiting principle to prevent Apple from leveraging its control of iOS to foreclose competition in countless adjacent markets.
It also claimed:
If Apple is allowed to step between any company with online services and users of iPhones, few areas of the vast mobile economy will be safe from Apple’s interference and eventual dominance.
States Support Appeal
It is not the only party getting involved in this seemingly never-ending legal saga between Apple and Epic. In January, 34 states and the District of Columbia indicated they wanted the September 2021 ruling from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers overturned by filing amicus briefs. The Fortnite-maker is appealing that previous ruling, which fell short of calling the iOS App Store a monopoly.
This coming from the company that just bought Activision and is poised to reduce competition in the gaming market because of that acquisition?