Apple can’t dismiss Cydia’s amended antitrust lawsuit, judge says

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple tried to dismiss an amended antitrust lawsuit filed by the creator of the app store for jailbroken phones. California District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers gave Apple 21 days to respond to the refiled complaint after she denied the company's motion to dismiss the case on Thursday.

Jay Freeman, also known as Saurik, filed a lawsuit against Apple in 2020. The complaint alleges that Apple has monopolised and maintained monopoly power in the distribution and payment of apps. The Cydia store was shut down.

The judge who issued a mixed ruling in the Apple trial dismissed the case because it was outside of the four-year statute of limitations. The chance to amend the complaint was given by Gonzalez Rogers.

The new complaint claims that Apple made changes to its software in order to make it harder for alternative app stores to provide usable apps for their phones. Apple tried to shut down the refiled complaint on the basis of the allegations being outside the statute of limitations, but Gonzalez Rodger denied the motion for dismissal. The Verge reached out to Apple, but didn't hear back.

Apple kicked out Fornite for offering an alternate payment option, which allowed Epic to get around the 30 percent commission it takes from Apple. The lawsuit against Google is set to go to trial in three years. Match Group, the company behind dating sites like OkCupid and Hinge, filed a lawsuit against the company for its payment restrictions on the Play Store.

Apple has been the subject of government scrutiny. South Korea has passed a law requiring both Apple and Google to let developers use third-party payment processors. The US and EU are working together to curb the power of large technology companies, with the EU set to pass the Digital Markets Act next year, and the US making progress with the Open App Markets Act designed to promote competition in mobile computing.