A Federal US judge questioned why Apple takes a 30 per cent slice of developer revenues as she ruled that while Apple cannot cut off Epic’s access to iOS Unreal Engine development tools, she would not order the company to allow Fortnite to return to the App Store. In the eight-page order [PDF], Yvonne Gonzalez Read more about Epic move: Judge says Apple can’t revoke Unreal Engine dev tools, asks ‘Where does the 30 per cent come from?’[…]

Microsoft’s Kevin Gammill, general manager of Gaming Developer Experiences, called Epic’s Unreal Engine “critical technology” in a filing at the weekend [PDF] in support of Epic’s motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Apple from terminating its developer account. Referring to the statement, Xbox supremo Phil Spencer tweeted yesterday to say “ensuring that Epic Read more about Microsoft sides with Epic over Apple developer ban, supports motion for temporary restraining order[…]

As PC Gamer’s Fortnite guy, I’ve written many a guide to Epic’s various tournaments, cash cups, and special events, but few have ever been as weird as this one. On Thursday evening, Epic announced the #FreeFortnite Cup, a new tournament seemingly designed to continue Epic’s campaign against Apple and Google. Barring a legal miracle, it’s Read more about Epic Games start Free Fortnite cup time with awesome prizes incl a rotten apple skin[…]

WordPress, the iOS app, lets you build and manage a website right from your iPhone or iPad, for free. Separately, WordPress.com also happens to sell domain names and fancier website packages. Now, WordPress founding developer Matt Mullenweg is accusing Apple of cutting off the ability to update that app — until or unless he adds Read more about Apple cut off updates to completely free WordPress app until it adds in app purchases because it wants 30 percent[…]

Major news organizations are joining Epic Games in the push for Apple to rethink its app store terms following Fortnite’s high-profile ban this month. Digital Content Next, a trade organization representing the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and dozens of other media outlets and publishers (including yours truly, G/O Media), Read more about News outlets join Epic in challenging Apple’s app store terms[…]

Edward Snowden has brought in a health $1.25m in speaking fees ever since he jumped on a plane to Hong Kong with a treasure trove of NSA secrets, a new court filing [PDF] has revealed. The whistleblower, who exposed mass surveillance of American citizens and foreigners by the US government by handing over top-secret documents Read more about Ed Snowden has raked in $1m+ from speeches – and Uncle Sam wants its cut, specifically, absolutely all of it[…]

Everyone is mad about Apple’s App Store guidelines right now, especially when it comes to cloud gaming services. Microsoft isn’t bringing Project xCloud to iOS. Google’s Stadia app can’t let iPhone users actually play games. Facebook also had to axe the ability to play games for its Facebook Gaming iOS app to be allowed in Read more about Fortnight Has Laid a Perfect Antitrust Trap for Apple and Google[…]

Following a year-long investigation into the company, Reuters reports Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has found the iPhone-maker abused its dominant position in the mobile app marketplace and will order Apple to resolve multiple regulatory breaches. The agency started investigating the tech giant after developer Kaspersky Lab filed a complaint over the rejection of its Read more about Russia’s antitrust watchdog finds Apple abused App Store ‘dominance’[…]

New York state is introducing a bill that would make it easier to sue big tech companies for alleged abuses of their monopoly powers. New York is America’s financial center and one of its most important tech hubs. If successfully passed, the law could serve as a model for future legislation across the country. It Read more about New York unveils landmark antitrust bill that makes it easier to sue tech giants[…]

The attorney general of New York took action Thursday to dissolve the National Rifle Association following an 18-month investigation that found evidence the powerful gun rights group is “fraught with fraud and abuse.” Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars and that Read more about NRA riddled with Fraud. Investigation Moves NY AG To Seek Group’s Dissolution[…]

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek discussed streaming and sustainability in a recent interview with Music Ally published on Thursday. Ek denied criticisms that Spotify pays insufficient royalties to artists, and insisted that the role of the musician had changed in today’s “future landscape.” Ek claimed that a “narrative fallacy” had been created and caused music fans Read more about Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says working musicians may no longer be able to release music only “once every three to four years” – they will have to work just like the rest of us[…]

Apple has another antitrust charge on its plate. Messaging app Telegram has joined Spotify in filing a formal complaint against the iOS App Store in Europe — adding its voice to a growing number of developers willing to publicly rail against what they decry as Apple’s app “tax”. A spokesperson for Telegram confirmed the complaint Read more about Telegram hits out at Apple’s app store ‘tax’ in latest EU antitrust complaint[…]

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who ended Wednesday’s hearing by saying some Big Tech companies need to be broken up, told Axios that Facebook in particular lacks significant competitors and should not have been allowed to buy Instagram and WhatsApp. Why it matters: Cicilline chairs the antitrust subcommittee, which has been looking into competition issues in Read more about Top antitrust Democrat: There’s a case to break up Facebook – The guys were rambling, the women clear. Apple dodges most bullets, CEOs acting like confused guilty schoolboys[…]

When a customer gets refunded for an app they purchased, Apple doesn’t refund the 30% cut they took from the developer, says developer Simeon Saens of Two Lives Left. While [online] payment processors generally don’t refund fees on refunded payments, “the App Store doesn’t position itself as a payments processor the way Stripe does, so Read more about When a Customer Gets Refunded For a Paid App, Apple Doesn’t Refund the 30% Cut They Took From The Developer[…]

A US House antitrust committee is getting set to grill tech’s biggest CEOs, but Microsoft wants them to focus on one in particular: Apple’s Tim Cook. Microsoft President Brad Smith met with the committee several weeks ago and relayed concerns about how Apple manages its App Store, according to the The Information (via Bloomberg). Smith Read more about Microsoft raised Apple’s app store with US house antitrust group[…]

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Fortnite developer Epic Games, criticized Apple and Google for having an “absolute monopoly” on app stores in a Friday interview with CNBC. There aren’t many viable options for distributing mobile software outside the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and Sweeney chides both for taking a 30 percent fee Read more about Epic Games CEO speaks out against Apple, Google app store monopoly[…]

The former head of DNS regulator ICANN has been named as co-CEO of a company that launched a controversial attempt to purchase the .org internet registry earlier this year. The news has again raised concerns over the revolving doors between regulators and those who need regulation. In the past week, the website of Ethos Capital, Read more about Ex-boss of ICANN shifts from ‘advisor’ to co-CEO of private equity biz that tried to buy .org for $1bn[…]

Workplace messaging software company Slack is accusing Microsoft of monopoly behavior in an antitrust complaint filed today to European Union regulators. Unsurprisingly, the accusations hinge on the same practice that helped make Microsoft rich in the first place. Bill Gates, Windows, innovation, yes, yes, OK—undoubtedly Microsoft had a lot to contribute to the early years Read more about Microsoft’s Doing the Monopoly Thing Again, Slack Says[…]

When Amazon.com’s venture-capital fund invested in DefinedCrowd, it gained access to the technology startup’s finances and other confidential information. Nearly four years later, in April, Amazon’s cloud-computing unit launched an artificial-intelligence product that does almost exactly what DefinedCrowd does, said DefinedCrowd founder and Chief Executive Daniela Braga. The new offering from Amazon Web Services, called Read more about Amazon Met With Startups About Investing, Then Launched Competing Products[…]

we’re advancing our plans to make it free for merchants to sell on Google. Beginning next week, search results on the Google Shopping tab will consist primarily of free listings, helping merchants better connect with consumers, regardless of whether they advertise on Google. With hundreds of millions of shopping searches on Google each day, we Read more about Google aims at Amazon and fires: List your products on Google Shopping for free[…]

The companies that do most to develop and evolve the LibreOffice productivity suite, both for desktop and cloud, say the project’s business model is “beyond utterly broken” and that The Document Foundation (TDF), the charity that hosts the project, has to change its approach. The matter is a subject of intense debate within the board Read more about Company that contributes majority of LibreOffice code complains ecosystem is ‘beyond utterly broken’ – no financial model for FOSS[…]