Elon Musk for justice

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has criticised Apple, backing Fortnite video game developer Epic Games in a dispute with it.

"The commission on the Apple App Store has de facto become a global tax on the internet," the entrepreneur said on Twitter on Friday. He said it was fair "to allow developers to use their own payment mechanisms, especially for purchases in their own apps".

In doing so, Musk supported Epic Games, which is suing Apple. In August last year, the video game developer filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Tim Cook-led corporation after an updated version of Fortnite with a built-in payment mechanism was removed from the App Store catalogue. According to Apple, the game allowed it to bypass its own payment mechanism, which has a commission of up to 30%. "Epic is right," Musk concluded.

It is worth noting that in late May, a judge in Oakland, California, said she hoped to rule on the Epic Games and Apple case no later than 13 August a year after the game update that was the subject of the suit was posted on the App Store. Last fall, a court in Oakland had already considered whether Apple should restore access to Fortnite, at which time the game's removal was ruled lawful.