Apple CEO Tim Cook Testifies At Epic Games Antitrust Suit

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook took the witness stand Friday in a court battle that could decide a key pillar of his growth strategy for the company, reported The Wall Street Journal.

He came to rebut claims by “Fortnite” creator Epic Games Inc. that the tech giant is a monopolist, in a closely watched case that could reverberate around the world as lawmakers and regulators question the might of the world’s most valuable company.

“We’re not thinking about the money at all, we’re thinking about the user,” Mr. Cook said.

With the bench trial in Oakland, Calif., nearing its expected end on Monday, Mr. Cook followed other Apple executives this week who tried to counter arguments by Epic that Apple improperly prohibits competing app stores on the iPhone and forces in-app purchases for digital payments through its own system that takes as much as a 30% cut.

Mr. Cook began testifying around 8:15 a.m. local time by discussing Apple’s commitment to security and privacy—a familiar theme for the CEO—and his belief that third-party developers with their own app stores aren’t motivated to match the level of user protection that Apple provides with its App Store.

He noted that Apple reviews about 100,000 apps a week and rejects about 40,000 for various reasons.

“You can imagine if you turned the review off how long that it would take the App Store to just become a toxic kind of mess,” Mr. Cook said. “It would be terrible for the user, but it also would be terrible for the developer because the developer depends on the store being a safe and trusted place where customers want to come and feel good about transacting.”

Apple’s case that it isn’t a monopoly has relied on citing Android phones, personal computers and videogame consoles as additional ways for Epic to distribute its “Fortnite’’ game, and underscoring that other platforms collect a similar commission.

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