Apple app store fees a de facto global tax on Internet, says Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Recently, a report said that Apple`s main trial with Epic finished in May, with both sides awaiting a decision

The Fortnite game was removed from App Store in August last year after the company allegedly violated rules by adding an in-game payment system aimed at depriving Apple of its commission on in-app purchases from App Store. Source: Reuters

Taking Epic Games` side, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said that Apple holds a `de facto global tax on the Internet`. Musk was referring to the trial earlier in 2021 between Epic Games, the developer of popular game "Fortnite," and Apple.

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"Apple app store fees are a de facto global tax on the Internet. Epic is right," Musk wrote on Twitter. Epic Games brought a high-profile lawsuit against Apple over the way it runs the App Store and doesn`t allow things like app stores within apps or alternate ways to take payment for digital goods which means developers paying 15 or 30 per cent commission to Apple, reports 9To5Mac.

However, Apple fought that claim by saying that Epic`s hit game Fortnite only made up 10 per cent of total revenue.

Apple also argues that consumers have the choice to use Android or other platforms if they`re not happy with iOS and the App Store.

Recently, a report said that Apple`s main trial with Epic finished in May, with both sides awaiting a decision from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on the matter.

The much-reported trial between Apple and Epic Games began on May 5, as the companies got involved in a legal battle over the use of an in-game payment system.

While Epic Games argues about Apple`s monopoly over the app market and treats 30 per cent standard fee amount to anti-competitive behaviour that must be regulated by antitrust law, Apple contends that "the whole antitrust allegation and associated dust-kicking is little more than a PR stunt," a report said earlier.

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