{"id":43991,"date":"2024-07-05T16:16:43","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T20:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=43991"},"modified":"2024-07-05T16:16:43","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T20:16:43","slug":"epic-games-store-blocked-via-notarization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2024\/07\/05\/epic-games-store-blocked-via-notarization\/","title":{"rendered":"Epic Games Store Blocked via Notarization"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ben Lovejoy<\/a> (Slashdot<\/a>):<\/p>\n

\n

Epic Games has accused Apple of deliberately delaying its attempt to launch its own iOS games store in Europe, and has filed a further antitrust complaint with the EU.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Epic Games<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Apple has rejected our Epic Games Store notarization submission twice now, claiming the design and position of Epic’s “Install” button is too similar to Apple’s “Get” button and that our “In-app purchases” label is too similar to the App Store’s “In-App Purchases” label.<\/p>

We are using the same “Install” and “In-app purchases” naming conventions that are used across popular app stores on multiple platforms, and are following standard conventions for buttons in iOS apps. We’re just trying to build a store that mobile users can easily understand, and the disclosure of in-app purchases is a regulatory best practice followed by all stores nowadays.<\/p>

Apple’s rejection is arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation of the DMA, and we’ve shared our concerns with the European Commission.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Tim Sweeney<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Epic had supported notarization during Epic v Apple on the basis that Mac’s mandatory malware scanning could add value to iOS. Now it’s disheartening to see Apple twist its once-honest notarization process into another vector to manipulate and thwart competition.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Gatekeeper review of apps cannot possibly stand under the DMA when they misuse this power to delay competitors, dictate confusing or non-standard user interface designs to competitors, sherlock competitors by sharing pre-release app details with executives and internal teams competing with the app, and introduce potentially many-year delays to fair competition during appeals.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Tim Sweeney<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I can share that, at the top of the Epic Games Store screen that Apple rejected, is a big Epic Games Store logo displaying the text “Epic Games Store”.<\/p>\n

Apple says users may confuse this screen with their App Store, whose screens don’t prominently identify itself through the App Store trademark or its logo as our store does.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Ernesto Monasterio<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

While I might not agree with everything the EU is asking from Apple, the fact that they’re using notarization as a de facto review process burns all the goodwill I might have towards the folks at Cupertino.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Jeff Johnson<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Funny how Apple will follow the law in Russia and China but flout the law in the EU. Censorship? Fine, great! Sideloading? Hell no!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n