The federal judge who initially ordered Apple to loosen its grip on the App Store has found that the company deliberately failed to comply with her ruling. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers determined that Apple tried to hide its noncompliance through a series of calculated decisions aimed at maintaining control over developers.

In 2021, Judge Gonzalez Rogers issued an "anti-steering injunction" that required Apple to allow developers to include links and buttons directing users to purchase methods outside the App Store. Instead of fully complying, internal meeting notes revealed Apple's strategy to "limit the ruling" through various means.

Apple considered several options for responding to the court order. These ranged from taking no commission but restricting link placement, to charging based on app downloads, to implementing a new web purchase commission with developer audits. The company delayed making changes while pursuing appeals through the legal system.

When forced to comply, Apple chose what the judge called "the most anticompetitive option" - a combination of commission fees, audits, and restrictions on link placement. Company executives debated the commission rate, with then-CFO Luca Maestri advocating for 27%, while App Store leader Phil Schiller expressed concerns about charging any commission at all.

Apple CEO Tim Cook ultimately selected a 27% commission rate. The court found this rate "was still based on nothing but Apple's desire for profit" and that Apple knew the high rate would make external payment processing financially unviable for most developers.

The company further built friction into the system by requiring plain text links rather than buttons, creating full-screen warnings with what employees called "scary" language, and adding additional disclaimers at Cook's request. Apple also prevented certain developers from using the new rules and blocked dynamic links that would keep users logged in.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers has now ordered Apple to give developers unrestricted use of links and buttons for sales purposes and has prohibited the company from charging commissions on web purchases. Apple spokesperson Olivia Dalton stated that the company disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal.

This case occurs amid growing tensions between large technology companies and the current administration. Recently, the White House criticized Amazon for planning to display Trump administration tariff costs alongside product prices, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling it a "hostile and political act" during a Tuesday press briefing.