The
U.K.'s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled that Apple has won its
appeal against an investigation by the U.K.'s Competition and Market
Authority (CMA).
In Nov. 2022, the CMA opened a probe to investigate
whether Apple's ecosystem creates barriers to cloud gaming but
reportedly failed to release its findings promptly.
- The CMA alleged that
Apple restricts cloud gaming through its app store guidelines, which
state that all games included in a cloud service must have their own App
Store product page.
- In February, the CMA outlined specific actions Apple
could take to make it easier for cloud gaming services to run on iOS.
Apple responded to those remedies, saying it had "significant concerns"
regarding the CMA's findings, including that implementing such changes
"risk disproportionately impacting Apple's ecosystem."
- Apple
argued that the CMA opened its probe too late and that it, therefore,
had no authority to open its investigation in the first place. The CAT
ruled in Apple's favor, stating that the CMA failed to meet the
accompanying deadlines.
- The
U.K. regulator expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling and released a
statement, "Today's judgment has found there are material constraints
on the CMA's general ability to refer markets for in-depth
investigations." The group also announced that it might seek permission
to appeal the CAT's decision.
