Apple ordered to keep web links in the App Store

is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade. Apple will have to continue allowing web links and external payment options in the App Store after its request to halt a judge’s order was rejected today by a higher court. In April, a federal judge demanded that Apple begin allowing web links, cease restricting how links are formatted, and enable developers to offer external payment options without giving the company a cut of their revenue. Apple promptly appealed and requested that the order be put on hold until the legal proceedings were finished. But an Appeals Court has now denied Apple’s emergency request to block the order. The court said it was “not persuaded” that blocking the order was appropriate after weighing Apple’s chances to succeed on appeal, whether Apple would be irreparably harmed, whether other parties would be hurt if the order is halted, and what supports the public interest. Spotify, Kindle, and other big app ... Read full article.