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Apple just kicked Fortnite off the App Store

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1704 points ardit33 | 1 comments | 13 Aug 20 19:03 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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andreasley ◴[13 Aug 20 20:37 UTC] No.24148645[source]▶
Epic Games has filed a lawsuit [1] and published a Fortnite-themed parody of Apple's "1984" [2] to get some publicity for it.

[1] https://cdn2.unrealengine.com/apple-complaint-734589783.pdf

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euiSHuaw6Q4

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coldcode ◴[13 Aug 20 20:51 UTC] No.24148908[source]▶
They will lose as the TOS clearly indicates the rules and Epic agreed to them. This is basic contract law. Apple has a massive team of experienced lawyers.
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bluedevil2k ◴[13 Aug 20 20:54 UTC] No.24148955[source]▶
TOS can't violate laws though. A contract that is in violation of the law isn't enforceable. Epic is looking for a judgement to make it illegal.
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the-pigeon ◴[13 Aug 20 21:07 UTC] No.24149191[source]▶
Expanding on this.

The idea that a large platform like iOS can only have apps loaded through a market place controlled by the hardware manufactured is clearly in violation of the spirit of anti-trust laws.

However there's no legal precedent on this because no one with deep enough pockets to fight Apple has been angry enough to do it yet.

Meaning this could be great news for everyone if this goes to court and Apple loses as they should.

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1. wayoutthere ◴[13 Aug 20 21:34 UTC] No.24149630[source]▶
I think everyone is just assuming that Epic will win. I don't think that's the most likely scenario. The US is a very different legal and social environment than it was 30 years ago. More likely it's going to set a precedent that device makers can do exactly the things that Apple is doing, and more than that, they'll become the norm and you can kiss any "open" hardware platforms goodbye.