Latest news with #WYATTEGRANTHAM-PHILIPS
Japan Today
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Fortnite says it's offline on Apple's iOS around the world
FILE - Shoppers look at Apple products in the Apple Store at the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY, on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and MICHAEL LIEDTKE Fortnite says it's now unavailable on Apple's iOS globally because the tech giant blocked a bid to rerelease the popular video game for iPhone users in the U.S. and Europe. 'Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the U.S. App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union," Epic Games-owned Fortnite wrote on X early Friday — claiming that Apple's move would now prevent the game's iOS availability around the world. 'Sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it,' Fortnite said. In a statement sent to The Associated Press, Apple said it had specifically asked Epic Sweden to resubmit the app update 'without including the U.S. storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies.' But, the company added, it "did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces.' Fortnite's exile from the iPhone app store is the latest twist in a yearslong feud between Apple and Epic. Back in 2020, Apple pulled Fortnite from its app store and Epic filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company in the U.S., alleging the technology trendsetter was illegally using its power to gouge game makers. After a monthlong trial in 2021, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled against most of Epic's claims, but ordered Apple to loosen its previously-exclusive control over the payments made for in-app commerce and allow links to alternative options in the U.S. for the first time — threatening to undercut sizable commissions that Apple had been collecting from in-app transactions for over a decade. After exhausting an appeal that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Apple last year introduced a new system that opened the door for links to alternative payment options while still imposing a 27% commission on in-app transactions executed outside its own system. Epic fired back by alleging Apple was thumbing its nose at the legal system, reviving another round of court hearings that lasted nearly a year before Gonzalez Rogers delivered a stinging rebuke last month — which held Apple in civil contempt and banned the company from collecting any commission on alternative payment systems. That ruling cleared the way for Epic to finally return to the iPhone app store in the U.S., a reinstatement the video game maker was anticipating before Apple's latest move. Fortnite's availability in the EU, meanwhile, is under an alternative store for iPhone users — now called the Epic Games Store. Apple last year cleared the way for this last year under new regulatory pressures. As a result, Fornite and other Epic games had been available for download on iPhones using this store in the EU since August 2024. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
06-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Trump threatens '100% tariff' on all movies produced abroad
Trump said he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the United States, claiming Hollywood was being 'devastated' by a trend of US studios working abroad By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS President Donald Trump is eyeing Hollywood for his next round of tariffs, threatening to levy all films produced outside the U.S. at a steep rate of 100%. Over the weekend, Trump accused other countries of 'stealing the movie-making capabilities' of the U.S. and said that he had authorized the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative to immediately begin the process of implementing this new import tax on all foreign-made films. But further specifics or dates weren't provided. And the White House confirmed that no final decisions had been made as of Monday. Trump later said that he would meet with industry executives about the proposal but a lot remains unclear about how an import tax on complex, international productions could even be implemented. If imposed, experts warn that such a tariff would dramatically hike the costs of making movies today. That uncertainty could put filmmakers in limbo, much like other industries that have recently been caught in the crosshairs of today's ongoing trade wars. Unlike other sectors that have recently been targeted by tariffs, however, movies go beyond physical goods, bringing larger intellectual property ramifications into question. Here's what we know. Trump is citing national security concerns, a justification he's similarly used to impose import taxes on certain countries and a range of sector-specific goods. In a Sunday night post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump claimed that the American movie industry is 'DYING to a very fast death" as other countries offer 'all sorts of incentives' to draw filmmaking away from the U.S. Trump has previously voiced concern about movie production moving overseas. And in recent years, U.S. film and television production has been hampered between setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hollywood guild strikes of 2023 and the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Incentive programs have also long-influenced where movies are shot both abroad and within the U.S., with more production leaving California to states like Georgia and New Mexico -- as well as countries like Canada. But unlike other sectors targeted by Trump's recently-imposed tariffs, the American film industry currently holds a trade deficit that's in the U.S.'s favor. In movie theaters, American-produced movies overwhelmingly dominate the domestic marketplace. Data from the Motion Picture Association also shows that American films made $22.6 billion in exports and $15.3 billion in trade surplus in 2023 — with a recent report noting that these films 'generated a positive balance of trade in every major market in the world' for the U.S. Last year, international markets accounted for over 70% of Hollywood's total box office revenue, notes Heeyon Kim, an assistant professor of strategy at Cornell University. She warns that tariffs and potential retaliation from other countries impacting this industry could result in billions of dollars in lost earnings and thousands of jobs. 'To me, (this) makes just no sense," she said, adding that such tariffs could "undermine otherwise a thriving part of the U.S. economy.' The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents behind-the-scenes entertainment workers across the U.S. and Canada, said in a statement Monday that Trump had 'correctly recognized' the 'urgent threat from international competition' that the American film and television industry faces today. But the union said it instead recommended the administration implement a federal production tax incentive and other provisions to 'level the playing field' while not harming the industry overall. That's anyone's guess. 'Traditional tariffs apply to physical imports crossing borders, but film production primarily involves digital services — shooting, editing and post-production work that happens electronically," notes Ann Koppuzha, a lawyer and business law lecturer at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business. Koppuzha said that film production is more like an applied service that can be taxed, not tariffed. But taxes require Congressional approval, which could be a challenge even with a Republican majority. Making a movie is also an incredibly complex — and international — process. It's common for both large and small films to include production in the U.S. and in other countries. Big-budget movies like the upcoming 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,' for instance, are shot around the world. U.S. studios frequently shoot abroad because tax incentives can aid production costs. But a blanket tariff across the board could discourage that or limit options, Kim said — hurting both Hollywood films and the global industry that helps create them. 'When you make these sort of blanket rules, you're missing some of the nuance of how production works,' added Steven Schiffman, a longtime industry veteran and adjunct professor at Georgetown University. 'Sometimes you just need to go to the location, because frankly it's way too expensive just to try to create in a soundstage' Schiffman points to popular titles filmed outside the U.S. — such as Warner Bros' 'Harry Potter' series, which was almost entirely shot in the UK. 'The cost to have done that would have like literally double to produce those movies under this proposed tariff," he said. Overall, experts warn that the prospect of tariffing foreign-made movies ventures into uncharted waters. 'There's simply no precedent or sense for applying tariffs to these types of creative services,' Koppuzha said. And while the Trump administration could extend similar threats to other forms of intellectual property, like music, 'they'd encounter the same practical hurdles." But if successful, some also warn of potential retaliation. Kim points to 'quotas" that some countries have had to help boost their domestic films by ensuring they get a portion of theater screens, for example. Many have reduced or suspended such quotas over the years in the name of open trade — but if the U.S. places a sweeping tariff on all foreign-made films, these kinds of quotas could come back, 'which would hurt Hollywood film or any of the U.S.-made intellectual property,' Kim said. And while U.S. dominance in film means 'there are fewer substitutes' for retaliation, Schiffman notes that other forms of entertainment — like game development — could see related impacts down the road. Others stress the potential consequences of hampering international collaboration overall. 'Creative content distribution requires thoughtful economic approaches that recognize how modern storytelling flows across borders," notes Frank Albarella, U.S. media and telecommunications sector leader at KPMG. "The question hanging over every screen: Might we better nurture American storytelling through smart, targeted incentives, or could we inadvertently force audiences to pay more for what could become a narrower creative landscape?' AP Writers Jake Coyle and Jill Colvin in New York, Aamer Madhani in Palm Beach, Florida and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report. © 2025 AFP
