Apple must respond to accusation from maker of jailbreak software Cydia

Apple will have to respond to a lawsuit from the maker of Cydia, an alternative download store for jailbroken iPhones and iPads. That must be done within three weeks, says an American judge.

Cydia for iOS, June 2020

The American judge gave SaurikIT, the company of jailbreak developer Saurik, partly right and that’s how things are going now. Apple’s response must be received within three weeks, so the company must have responded by mid-June.

It is an adapted version of Saurik’s first complaint against Apple. The indictment first focused on Apple decisions that the company made around 2008 and 2009, but the judge did not allow that. US antitrust rules dictate that it must be about actions in the past four years. In the amended complaint, Saurik talks about Apple’s actions since 2018.

The developer of Cydia argues that the company has suffered economic damage from Apple’s monopoly on software distribution for iOS. Because Cydia is only available after a jailbreak, the audience is limited. If Cydia had been allowed without a jailbreak from the start, there would have been competition for the App Store. In addition, the company claims that Apple has a monopoly on payment systems for apps. Apple has not commented on the judge’s ruling, reports Reuters.