Brazilian judge overturns ruling that forced Apple to open up its Store

Last week, Brazil’s antitrust regulator CADE ordered Apple to allow users to download apps and make purchases from outside its App Store, with a 20-day deadline and fines for not complying. Now, a Brazilian federal court has overturned that injunction, ruling that it was “disproportionate and unnecessary,” 9to5Mac reported.

Cade ordered Apple to allow third-party developers to tell users about alternative ways to make in-app purchases (subscriptions, etc.) so developers wouldn’t be forced to pay Apple a commission. It also demanded that Apple open up its ecosystem to other stores or allow sideloading. If Apple didn’t comply within 20 days, it faced a fine of 250,000 Real (around $43,000) per day.

Apple appealed that ruling on the grounds that the changes would be too difficult to implement within that time frame and the court agreed. “[The] technical complexity of the changes and the global regulatory impacts in similar decision in other regions, such as the European union, reinforce the need for such changes to be discussed in greater depth,” a judge ruled.

CADE began investigation following a complaint by local e-commerce company Mercado Libre, which accused Apple of anticompetitive behavior. The regulator can appeal the ruling and still force Apple to comply.