Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Apple's Epic App Store Appeal

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear Apple's appeal against a contempt ruling that forced changes to its App Store linking rules.

The Supreme Court grants Apple's petition. The court will review the contempt finding issued after Apple implemented fees on links to alternative payment options. Apple filed its request in May 2026. The decision comes after the court previously declined to weigh in on the original 2021 Epic Games versus Apple commission dispute.

Apple issued a statement welcoming the development. "This is an important question of law and we are pleased the Supreme Court will hear our case," the company told MacRumors. The case has grown more complex since the initial ruling, which piqued the court's interest.

Background of the Epic Games dispute. Apple largely won the 2021 Epic Games case and was not found to have violated antitrust law. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Apple to relax its anti-steering rules and allow developers to link to alternate payment options inside apps. Apple complied by charging a 12 to 27 percent fee on those link-outs instead of its prior 15 to 30 percent commission.

Developers faced added hassle from payment processor fees and saw little net discount. As a result, few used the new linking system. Epic Games accused Apple of violating the injunction, leading back to court.

Contempt finding and subsequent appeals. In April 2025, Judge Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in contempt of court for willfully violating the 2021 injunction. She barred Apple from collecting any fees on links in the U.S. App Store, prompting Apple to update its rules. Apple appealed the contempt ruling. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the finding, sending Apple to the Supreme Court.

Apple argues the contempt ruling was inappropriate because the original order did not explicitly bar fees on linked payments. Both lower courts cited a violation of the "spirit" of the injunction rather than its exact wording. Apple contends that basing contempt on "spirit" instead of clear language creates "a recipe for abuse." The company seeks to have the Supreme Court overturn the contempt decision due to the absence of a clear and unambiguous violation.

Scope of the injunction and broader implications. Apple also asks the court to limit the injunction's scope to Epic Games alone rather than applying it to all developers. The company cited the recent Trump v. CASA ruling, which held that lower courts lack authority to issue universal injunctions blocking nationwide policies. Apple warned that the combination of a "spirit"-based contempt finding and a universal order "may reshape the global app marketplace."

The Supreme Court will hear arguments during its next term, which begins in October 2026 after the summer break. While the case proceeds, Apple returns to district court to calculate fees that would apply if the contempt ruling stands. The appeals court determined the district court's total ban on commissions went too far and remanded the matter to set a reasonable fee.