The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced Tuesday that the Federal Court has authorised it to intervene in the Epic Games v Apple litigation and to offer recommendations on any remedies that may be imposed on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
In a press release, the ACCC said it obtained leave from the Federal Court to take part in the forthcoming relief hearings connected to the dispute. The regulator will be positioned to make submissions about what corrective measures should be ordered against Apple.
This development comes after a court ruling last year found Apple in breach of competition laws for limiting the use of alternative app distribution channels and third-party in-app payment systems on its devices. Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google was also found to have breached competition law in the same matter and subsequently entered a global settlement agreement with Epic.
Epic Games, which counts Chinese gaming conglomerate Tencent (HK:0700) as a backer, initiated legal action against both Apple and Google after the companies removed the widely played game Fortnite from their app stores. That removal followed Epic's implementation of its own payment processing inside Fortnite, allowing players to bypass the roughly 30% commission that Apple and Google charge on in-app purchases.
"This is a significant competition law matter, and the orders made in these proceedings could have wide-ranging implications for the distribution of mobile apps and in-app payments in Australia," ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said.
The relief hearing - where judges will consider what remedies should be applied to Apple following the earlier finding of a breach - is scheduled to resume on April 28.
For market participants, the ACCC's participation formalises a regulatory voice in the remedy phase of a high-profile technology antitrust dispute. The court's earlier determinations and Google's separate settlement with Epic already set a legal backdrop; the ACCC's contributions at the relief hearing will focus on the form and scope of corrective orders that could affect how mobile apps are distributed and monetised in Australia.
While the specifics of any final orders remain to be determined at the resumed hearing, the matter continues to directly involve major technology platforms, the economics of app store commissions, and the business models of game publishers and other app developers that rely on in-app payments.