Apple asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to review a lower court ruling that held ‌the iPhone maker in civil contempt over fees it was charging on ‌some outside purchases made by customers of its App Store. The petition to the Supreme Court escalates ​a years-long legal battle with “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games, which sued Apple in 2020 seeking to loosen its control over transactions in applications that use the company's iOS operating system and its restrictions on how apps are distributed to ‌consumers. A judge mostly dismissed Epic's ⁠lawsuit but issued an injunction in 2021 requiring Apple to let developers include links in their apps directing users to non-Apple ⁠payment methods.