Apple can't dismiss Cydia's amended antitrust lawsuit, judge says

Apple's attempt to dismiss a revised antitrust lawsuit filed by the maker of Cydia, an app store for jailbroken iPhones, has failed (via Reuters). California District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Thursday rejected Apple's motion to dismiss the case and gave the company 21 days to respond to Cydia's complaint.

Cydia developer Jay Freeman (who also goes by the username Saurik) first filed a lawsuit against Apple in 2020. The complaint alleges that Apple "wrongfully acquired and maintained monopoly power" in iOS app distribution and payments, ultimately "depriving" third parties. App Store of "the ability to compete with the App Store". Cydia arose even before the Apple App Store existed, and allowed users to search for and download third-party apps for jailbroken devices. Freeman closed the Cydia store in 2018.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers — the same judge who issued a mixed decision for the Epic v. Apple trial — dismissed the case in January, citing Freeman's claims that were outside the four-year statute of limitations for antitrust lawsuits. Gonzalez Rogers nonetheless gave Freeman an opportunity to amend the complaint, which he did.

The latest complaint argues that from 2018 to 2021, Apple implemented "more aggressive" changes to iOS, which reportedly prevented Cydia and other alternative app stores from providing "usable" apps for iPhones. Apple once again sought to close the complaint on the grounds that the allegations were outside the statute of limitations, but González Rodger declined the offer of dismissal. The Verge reached out to Apple with a request for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

In 2020, Epic Games filed suit against Apple after removing Fortnite from the App Store - Apple ousted Fortnite for offering an alternative payment option, giving Epic a commission of up to about 30 percent from in-app purchases helped to obtain. Epic filed a similar lawsuit against Google around the same time, which is due to go to trial in 2023. Earlier this month, Match Group, the company behind Tinder, OKCupid and Hinge, also filed suit against Google for payment restrictions. play store.

In addition to app developers, Apple has been the subject of scrutiny from government agencies. While the Netherlands fined the company for preventing Dutch dating apps from using its billing system, South Korea passed a law requiring developers to include third-party payment processors from both Apple and Google. It is necessary. The US and EU are also working to tighten the noose on the power of big technology companies, with the EU set to implement the Digital Markets Act next year, and the US Open, designed to boost competition in mobile computing. has gone. App Market is making progress with the act. ,