Apple's Tim Cook justifies App Store rules, says it would be 'toxic mess' without policies

Apple CEO Tim Cook on May 21 faced sharp questioning in court about the App Store business model, which Epic Games says is a monopoly that Apple abuses. According to NBC News, Cook under questioning said that the “threat profile” of the iPhone required tight control of the App Store, however, “Fortnight” game maker has argued that Apple acts anticompetitive by only allowing apps it approves on the world’s 1 billion iPhones. Epic Games has also said that Apple forces developers to use Apple’s in-app payment system, which charges commissions of up to 30 per cent on sales. 

On Friday, Cook, however, defended his company said that he had higher concerns about the phone than Mac computers. He said that his company felt “ both the use cases and the threat profile would eventually be much greater because of the number of iPhones on the market”. But Epic argued that the Mac is very safe without Apple’s App Store review and that most of the privacy and security benefits come from the operating system, not the App Store rules. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has said that Apple is unfairly demanding an outsized cut of profits for providing simple payment processing technology. 

App Store would be ‘toxic mess’ without rules 

But Apple said that its control of its App Store, the only way for consumers to install software on iPhones, is essential for the company’s security and privacy promises to its users, and an important distinguishing feature in a competitive market for smartphones. Cook said that App Store would be a “toxic mess” without Apple’s rules and policies that Epic is fighting in court. Cook even said that Epic Games’ move last year to bypass Apple’s 30% in-app purchase fees on Fortnite, its shooter game, was “malicious”. It is worth mentioning that Apple subsequently removed the app from the App Store.

Meanwhile, Epic Games had filed a suit against Apple last summer after its hit game "Fortnite" was pulled from Apple's App Store. Apple says that it pulled the game because Epic violated the terms of its developer agreement when it implemented a payment system in the game that enabled players to circumvent Apple's App Store. Epic, on the other hand, says that the App Store is a monopoly and that iPhones and iPads are no different from computers.

(Image: AP/Twitter)