Epic Games CEO compared the fight against Apple to the actions of the civil rights movement
Tim Sweeney of Epic Games has long been openly critical of Apple, especially the way it works with developers. In August he decided to start an open fight with this company. First, he intentionally made changes to Fortnite that violated the App Store's regulations, and when Apple removed it from the store he responded with a lawsuit. Recently, Sweeney made some controversial statements about his conflict with Apple.
In a recent interview for The Wall Street Journal, Tim Sweeney compared his struggle with Apple to that of the civil rights movement, which fought to eliminate racial segregation in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. He concluded that at that time, too, there were universal laws that most people thought were right, but were in fact wrong. It was only through the actions of courageous individuals who openly opposed these principles that they could be changed. In his opinion, Epic Games is doing the same thing by opposing Apple's principles.
Sweeney's words caused a lot of controversy among Internet users. Many people considered the comparison inappropriate. Some also accused him of trying to use the underlying theme of social justice to win the favour of the public in a conflict where it is really only about money. The president of Epic Games, however, has been tough in defending his opinion in social media. He only made it clear that in comparison, he didn't mean that Apple's actions are as harmful as racial segregation, but that they require a similar form of opposition.
Sources: TechCrunch, Kotaku