Tim Sweeney Criticized for Recent Tweet Concerning MLK

During a recent Dealbook online event, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, made some questionable statements. When asked about the ongoing lawsuit with Apple, he stated that “it’s everybody’s duty to fight unfair regulations” and compared it to fighting for one’s civil rights.

“It’s everybody’s duty to fight. It’s not just an option that somebody’s lawyers might decide, but it’s actually our duty to fight that. If we had adhered to all of Apple’s terms and, you know, taken their 30 percent payment processing fees and passed the cost along to our customers, then that would be Epic colluding with Apple to restrain competition on iOS and to inflate prices for consumers.
Tim Sweeney

“So, going along with Apple’s agreement is what is wrong. And that’s why Epic mounted a challenge to this, and you know you can hear of any, and [inaudible] to civil rights fights, where there were actual laws on the books, and the laws were wrong. And people disobeyed them, and it was not wrong to disobey them because to go along with them would be collusion to make them status quo.”

READ: Epic and Apple’s Trial To Begin In May 2021, Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Yeah, that certainly did not go down well with people. Now, sure, Apple and Google’s payment policies may be unfair to a certain extent, and they may conduct some unethical practices, but comparing a lawsuit between two companies with the civil rights movement? Not sure what Tim thought when he said that.

If that wasn’t enough, Tim publically defended his statement on Twitter.

It’s a good article. Hey critics, please read what I said and tell me if it’s actually wrong: When the rules were wrongful, it was right to disobey them. That’s the comparison to the civil rights movement. pic.twitter.com/WMomQXwEjr
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) November 18, 2020

Epic’s CEO Compares Ongoing Lawsuit with Civil Rights Movement — Epic Games

Anyhow, this did not go well for the guy at all, seeing as how even the supporters of Epic Games in the ongoing lawsuit rained a ton of criticism for making such a remark on Twitter, stating how the comparison is just wrong, and there’s nothing more to it than that.

https://twitter.com/samfbiddle/status/1329145167505367040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1329145167505367040%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcgamer.com%2Ftim-sweeney-criticized-for-invoking-the-civil-rights-movement-in-epics-fight-with-apple%2F

I actually agree with you about Apple's terms being unfair, but SURELY you can see why this comparison is offensive and over-the-top? If you can't, you've lost it.
— Ryan T. Brown 🔜 WASD (@Toadsanime) November 18, 2020

https://twitter.com/tactful/status/1329173454361391107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1329173454361391107%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcgamer.com%2Ftim-sweeney-criticized-for-invoking-the-civil-rights-movement-in-epics-fight-with-apple%2F

A thought: There are countless thousands of things I could say that are *technically* correct — but nonetheless dumb, bad, distasteful, in ill taste, poorly thought-out, wrongly motivated, immoral, unhelpful, non-constructive, or generally just better left unsaid.
— Eric Bailey (@EricVBailey) November 18, 2020

While Tim did say that the lawsuit is not about money, but about leveling the playfield with Apple by having it open up its storefronts to the competition, comparing it to the struggle to abolish discrimination and ensure equal treatment under the law for all people was probably not the best course of action.

Regardless, let’s hope that no such comparisons are done again and await the May 2021 trial of Apple and Epic Games.