Technology

Gamers Turn Court Landmark Antitrust Case Into A 'Party'

This is why we can't have nice things.

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(Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

For antitrust nerds, the trial between Epic Games, the makers of the game Fortnite, and Apple, makers of approximately 45 percent of mobile phones in the United States, promises to help define the modern legal landscape.

Epic sued Apple because Fortnite was taken off their app store and was no longer available to iOS users. Apple made that move when Epic added alternative payment option for in-app purchases for Fortnite users. Now in litigation, Epic argues this is an improper monopolization of the iOS app distribution and in-app payment markets. In response, Apple says the iOS design choices being challenged actually have pro-competitive applications and that they protect consumer trust, and enhance security and privacy.

See, a very interesting antitrust case. But yesterday, when the first day of the trial began, there was more chaos than anticipated. The public call-in line was taken over by gamers who turned it into “a party line” as court staff struggled to regain control. Law.com explains how it went down:

Ahead of the trial Monday morning, court staff worked for at least 20 minutes to regain control of the public call-in line after gamers unmuted and repeatedly asked the judge, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California, if she could hear them and to “please bring back mobile.”

One participant said Tim Sweeney, Epic’s CEO and founder who testified on Monday, “better know what he’s doing, because if he messes up once, then we won’t have iOS back.” When audio from the courtroom cut off in the middle of Epic’s opening statements, another participant began making off-color and homophobic comments about Sweeney.

A person who was working on booting the disruptive participants from the line said that the conference line “became a party line,” but Rogers said court staff had resolved the issue and it should “not be a problem in the future.” In kicking off the trial, Rogers said it often takes a couple of days to “figure out how to make things work efficiently.”

Obviously, there are members of the public very invested in how the case shakes out, but disrupting the court — particularly with offensive comments — isn’t helping anyone’s legal argument.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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