A federal appeals court has reopened the possibility for Apple to collect commissions on external payment systems again — but only after Apple and Epic agree on what that commission should be.
Back in April, Judge Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple violated a 2021 injunction requiring it to remove anti-steering barriers that made it difficult for developers to guide users toward alternative payment methods. Because of that violation, Apple was temporarily barred from charging any commission on outside payments, not just its usual 27%.
On Thursday, the appeals court upheld part of that decision, stating that Apple did violate the anti-steering injunction by imposing steep commissions. However, the court also ruled that banning Apple from charging any commission at all went too far.
The ruling noted that while most of the restrictions were justified, the complete prohibition on commissions was “not an appropriately cabined civil contempt sanction.” As a result, that part of the April ruling was reversed and sent back to the lower court for revision.
However, Apple still won’t receive any money yet. The court wants Apple and Epic to decide on a fair commission rate — or let the court determine one if they can’t reach an agreement. Until then, Apple remains barred from collecting commissions on transactions processed through Epic or any other third-party payment system.
The appeals court also granted Apple one additional allowance: developers may not design their third-party payment buttons or links to appear more prominent, larger, or visually superior to Apple’s own UI elements. This decision softens the previous “plain button” requirement while still preventing developers from overshadowing Apple’s in-app purchase options.
