Tim Cook’s Kingdom Crumbles As Judge Orders Tactical Nuke on Apple’s Walled Garden…

Apple used to be a proper company. A proper company…

So Apple just got absolutely curb-stomped in federal court. Again. Except this time, there’s no Tim Cook keynote or Siri upgrade that’s going to clean up the blood. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who already smacked them once back in 2021 in Epic v. Apple, came back with a vengeance like she’s been marinating this roasting for the last three years. Simply put, she came with a friggin’ flamethrower in hand, and finger on the trigger. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In short, Apple willfully violated a federal injunction because it thought it could get away with it. Straight up. The court said “Stop charging developers for off-App Store purchases,” and Apple being the above the law company it is, replied with charging 27% instead of 30%. Which to me is almost an insult and a middle finger to the courts LOL. 

Naturally, Gonzalez Rogers was not amused. Not only did she say Apple violated her original order, she referred the whole dang thing to the Department of Justice for possible criminal contempt. For more context, Judge Rogers stated Apple’s VP of Finance, Alex Roman, “outright lied” to the court. Not “misled,” not “misremembered.” Lied. And then no one at Apple corrected it. Because of course they didn’t. That would require giving a sh*t. And Apple, apparently, doesn't. 

(Source: The Verge) 

Additionally, she also accused Apple of staging internal “deliberations” for litigation, like a bunch of suits sitting around a table roleplaying compliance for the court while doing the exact opposite in private. Now as you can see, the receipts on this deal are piling up, but what’s one more to add to the list? According to reports, Apple hid a meeting and literally buried the existence of a June 2023 exec pow-wow where Tim Cook, Luca Maestri, and other grey-hairs decided to say “f*k it” and keep the money flowing. You know it’s bad when the court calls you out for abusing attorney-client privilege just to avoid coughing up documents. Aaaand now would be a good time to call Better Call Saul… 

Now to be fair, not all of Apple's waters were muddied here. In fact, we should all pour one out for Phil Schiller who somehow still has an ounce of dignity and decency left in the cesspool we call corporate America. The former Apple marketing messiah told the team they should just follow the court order. But Timmy Cook ignored him. Gonzalez Rogers didn’t miss that detail either. “Cook chose poorly,” she wrote. Oooof… 

(Source: CNBC) 

So now, effective immediately, Apple can’t charge any commission on purchases made outside the app. Can’t block links, can’t nudge users with manipulative pop-ups, can’t pull their usual UX psychological warfare. This isn’t a suggestion. This is a court order. And the judge made it crystal clear: “This is an injunction. Not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order.” If that doesn’t read like the last thing you hear before someone gets fired, I don’t know what does.

Tim Sweeney, Epic’s CEO and part-time chaos goblin, is already dancing on the ashes. Fortnite’s coming back to the App Store next week. And he’s dangling a deal like he just found out what Tim Cook does in private: make this ruling global, and we’ll drop the lawsuits. Apple has to compete now. Like… actually compete. With real payment options and no 30% Apple tax. If you listen closely you can hear the sound of a thousand VPs in Cupertino grinding their teeth while reading earnings projections that just got torched.

Live look at Judge Yvonne Gonzalez…

(Source: Giphy) 

In the end, Apple built a walled garden, turned it into a casino, and made sure everyone paid to play. Epic kicked the door open in 2021. Now Judge Rogers just burned the whole hedge down. The App Store’s money printer isn’t broken yet, but it’s coughing smoke, and everyone from Spotify to Tinder is about to come charging through the breach. 

Obviously, Apple says they’ll appeal. Of course they will. That’s the only move left when you’ve been publicly dragged, legally humiliated, and possibly facing criminal charges because your executive team thought “court orders” were more of a suggestion. But the damage is done, especially to its reputation. Now only time will tell how much chaos this will bring to Apple's bottom line… but it definitely won’t be pretty. For now, keep your eyes on this story and place your bets accordingly, especially if you’re an Apple investor. Until next time, friends… 

P.S. Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you liked getting rekt. Let’s face it, retail investors get the short end of the stick all day everyday. It’s the smart money’s world, and we are just living in it–only useful when it comes to liquidity purposes in the market. Meaning, if you’re as pissed off as I was when I found out Milli Vanilli was lip syncing the whole time, then it’s time to go from investing blind, to investing smart. Luckily for you, the key is right here as a Stocks.News premium member. Click here to see exactly how our premium members are printing while others quake in the face of today’s market chaos. 

Stocks.News holds positions in Apple as mentioned in the article.