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Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook took the witness stand Friday in a court battle that could decide a key pillar of his growth strategy for the company, arguing that opening up the iPhone to rival app stores would hinder users.
He came to rebut claims by “Fortnite” creator Epic Games Inc. that the tech giant is a monopolist, in a closely watched case that could reverberate around the world as lawmakers and regulators question the might of the world’s most valuable company.
“We’re not thinking about the money at all, we’re thinking about the user,” Mr. Cook said.
With the bench trial in Oakland, Calif., nearing its expected end on Monday, Mr. Cook followed other Apple executives this week who tried to counter arguments by Epic that Apple improperly prohibits competing app stores on the iPhone and forces in-app purchases for digital payments through its own system that takes as much as a 30% cut.