A federal appeals court on Thursday backed a ruling that held Apple in civil contempt for brazenly defying an order designed to open its iPhone app store to other payment systems besides its own, but the decision also reopened a door for the company to collect commission from the rival options.
The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals mostly validated a scalding contempt order issued in April by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers for violating a key part of her September 2021 findings in a legal battle instigated by video game maker Epic Games.
But the Ninth Circuit's 54-page decision overturned one key part of Gonzalez Rogers' civil contempt crackdown that prohibited Apple from collecting commissions when consumers make an e-commerce purchase within an iPhone app through a payment systems that operate outside of Apple's control.
The appeals judges decided the ban that would have prevented Apple from imposing fees on rival payment options was too severe and ordered Gonzalez Rogers to reopen the case to determine a fair commission rate that the Cupertino, California, company, can charge. The ruling provided some general guidelines for how Gonzalez Rogers might determine a fair commission on external payment systems, but didn't make any suggestions about what the percentage might be.
Neither Apple nor Epic immediately responded for requests for comment late Thursday.
But the appeals decision agreed Apple had made a mockery of Gonzalez Rogers’ attempt to create more payment competition in the iPhone app store as part of a case that began in 2020. That’s when Epic, the maker of the Fortnite video game, filed a lawsuit alleging Apple had set up a price-gouging system within the iPhone app store that had turned into an illegal monopoly.
Epic's case targeted Apple's iron-clad control over all its devices and software — an approach that has become known as the company's “walled garden.”
As part of the strategy, Apple required all in-app purchases on iPhones to be made through its own payment processing system while collecting commissions ranging from 15% to 30%. Those commissions have become a huge moneymaker within a services division that brings in more than $100 billion in annual revenue for Apple.
Although Gonzalez Rogers rejected Epic's assertion that the iPhone app store had turned into an illegal monopoly in her 2021 decision, she ordered Apple to allow links to alternative payment options to be displayed within apps.
Apple continued to fight the alternative payment option in appeals before being rebuffed by the U.S. Supreme Court i n January 2024.
The company then announced it would charge commissions ranging from 12% to 27% on iPhone app purchases made on alternative payment options — rates that remained so high that few developers decided to offer other choices.
That prompted Epic to allege Apple was in contempt of court, a claim Gonzalez Rogers embraced after a series of testy court hearings last year and earlier this year that led her to conclude the company's efforts to allow alternative payment systems into the iPhone app store was little more than a “sham.”
FILE - An Apple logo adorns the facade of the downtown Brooklyn Apple store on March 14, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A gas explosion set off a major fire in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood on Thursday after obliterating at least one home, blowing out windows and shaking nearby houses. Six people were taken to hospitals for injuries, fire officials said.
Dramatic video footage showed a home in the Hayward area sitting under a blue sky when it suddenly exploded, spewing jagged wood and other debris into the air as smoke billowed.
Brittany Maldonado, who lives across the street from the home, was in her bedroom with her husband when she heard the blast.
“Boxes fell over and everything shook. We thought someone had just flown off the freeway and their car was in our living room,” she said. “It was like someone had just launched a bomb.”
Then they looked at the Nest doorbell cam footage and saw their neighbor’s home blowing up.
Alameda County Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Nishimoto said he did not know if those injured were workers or residents, but he said three people were immediately sent to a hospital due to their injuries and three others who were sent had more minor injuries.
Three structures on two separate lots were severely damaged, said Alameda County Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Nishimoto. Some of the 75 firefighters who responded had to back off momentarily when they felt electric shocks from power lines that had fallen on the site.
The neighborhood of single-level homes with tidy small lawns and some businesses near two freeways had been undergoing construction work for wider sidewalks and bike lanes.
The explosion occurred in the unincorporated community of Ashland, near the city of Hayward. The city is home to about 160,000 residents in the East Bay, 15 miles (24 km) south of Oakland.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it is sending a team to investigate.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was alerted around 7:35 a.m. that a construction crew — not with the utility — had damaged an underground gas line. Utility workers arrived to isolate the damaged line, but gas was leaking from various locations.
Workers stopped the flow of gas at 9:25 a.m., and the explosion followed shortly afterward.
Gas was flowing for two hours but the explosion happened 10 minutes after the line was shut off, PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian confirmed. She said it took time to isolate the line and stop the flow of gas.
The doorbell video showed a large excavator being used to dig in front of the home that exploded as a worker stood nearby.
Within moments, an explosion and flames blew out the walls and the roof of the home. People nearby appeared to be dazed for a few seconds, before running toward the home to search for any victims. Several workers lifted a large piece of debris from where it landed near the excavator.
Sirens could be heard in the distance as police arrived at the scene as flames began to spread at the site of the demolished building.
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Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, Julie Watson in San Diego and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Damage is seen after a gas explosion Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Alameda County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue teams work the scene after a gas explosion Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Damage is seen at the scene of a gas explosion in Hayward, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Alameda County Police Officers and Search and Rescue access the aftermath at the site of the explosion on the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Damage is seen at the scene of a gas explosion in Hayward, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Damage is seen after a gas explosion Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Alameda County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue teams work the scene after a gas explosion Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Damage is seen at the scene of a gas explosion in Hayward, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Steve Camp, of San Leandro, observes the site of a gas explosion in a neighborhood, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
A police officer talks with residents effected from the gas explosion on the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Alameda County Fire Deputy Chief Ryan Nishimoto addresses the media at the site of a gas explosion on the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Charred remains of a structure at the site of a gas explosion in a neighborhood, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
First responders and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. workers at the site of a gas explosion in a neighborhood, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
First responders and Pacific Gas & Electric Co workers at the site of the explosion on the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
First responders and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. workers at the site of a gas explosion in a neighborhood, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
First responders and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. workers at the site of the explosion on the 800 block of East Lewelling Boulevard, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Minh Connors)
Onlookers and emergency responders gather at the scene of a gas explosion Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A damaged rooftop is shown at the scene of a gas explosion Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A firefighter walks near the scene of a gas explosion Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Emergency vehicles are lined up at the scene of a gas explosion Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Hayward, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
