Judge rules Apple can’t force developers to use its App Store payment system

A federal judge ordered Apple to dismantle part of the competitive barricade guarding its closely run App Store, threatening one of the iPhone maker’s biggest moneymakers. The 185-page ruling issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers comes three months after the conclusion of a trial focused on one of the pillars holding up Apple’s $2-trillion empire — one that Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs began to shape 20 years ago. Since that trial ended, Apple has taken two steps to loosen some of its App Store rules — one to settle a lawsuit and another to appease Japanese regulators without altering its commissions. Those concessions make it easier for many apps to prod their users to pay for digital transactions in ways that avoid triggering Apple’s fees.