Economic miracle
[8:46 a.m. PT]Cook talked about the impact of the App Store. “I think it’s been an economic miracle,” he says. Apple started with 500 apps, and now has 1.8 million. He notes that almost 2 million people are estimated to have had jobs created through the app store. Commerce, according to one study, he says is half a trillion. “It’s likely been one of the most important job segments out there in a growth point of view over the last decade,” he added.
One of the most important issues
[8:26 a.m. PT]Cook began his testimony by bolstering Apple’s argument before the court that its control is about its commitment to privacy and security. “Privacy, from our point of view, is one of the most important issues of the century. And safety and security are the foundation that privacy is built upon.”
He also equated these issues with civil liberties and freedom of expression.
Judge gives indications
[8:12 a.m. PT]Rogers, who will be ruling on this case instead of a jury, has tipped her hand a couple times during the trial. She’s expressed doubt at some of both company’s arguments — in Epic’s case, the game company’s argument that Apple is a bad marketing partner. And in Apple’s case, its acknowledgement that it hasn’t studied whether other app stores or app moderation companies could do a better job than Apple’s App Store review team.
As court was starting Friday, Rogers asked lawyers to include in their final filings some discussion of “remedies,” or how to solve this problem. She said she’s still debating the question of whether Apple has an illegal monopoly over its own products. And she said the lack of competition for 30% commissions worries her.
Cook is in court
[7:53 a.m. PT]A group of reporters were waiting for Cook outside the courtroom today, but rumor was he entered in through the garage. So, no iconic photos of him walking up.
Well, Tim Cook sneakily entered the courthouse through a side entrance through the garage, rather than the main public entrance. There will be some very annoyed TV producers today. pic.twitter.com/EdHsEo0AzT
— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) May 21, 2021
For Cook, this courtroom represents the latest in a string of times he’s faced questions from a potentially hostile audience. In the past couple years, he’s found himself increasingly questioned by lawmakers and the press about his company’s substantial power.
Apple’s tallied more than 1 billion active iPhones in the world. Despite the coronavirus pandemic and economic catastrophe, Apple notched the largest sales and profit in its history during last year’s holiday shopping season. That’s helped push Apple’s value on Wall Street to more than $2 trillion.
Epic says some of Apple’s success was won through forcing developers to use its App Store, the only place users have ever been allowed to download apps for iPhones and iPads. Since launching the App Store in 2008, Apple’s held developers to a set of guidelines as well, including provisions requiring they use its payment processing service, which takes up to a 30% commission on sales of digital goods.
When
Cook is expected to begin testimony shortly after court goes into session on Friday at 8 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. BST / 1 a.m. March 21 AEST. Testimony is likely to run the whole day.
Where
The US District Court system has very strict rules about how proceedings are made available to the public. The audio isn’t allowed to be restreamed and can only be heard by dialing into a public conference call line where all participants are (typically) muted except for the court.
The dial-in number is 1 (877) 336-1839, and the access code is 9403112. Fair warning though, the audio quality often sounds like they’re talking while underwater, which is why we at CNET will have up-to-the-minute live updates here.
More information about the case can be found on the court’s website. You can also download the publicly available evidence submitted during testimony from a Box account set up by the lawyers for the trial.
What we can expect
One highlight of the trial has been Judge Rogers asking her own questions as well. That’s different from a a jury trial, where jurors must remain silent throughout the proceedings.
