March 20 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META ), Microsoft ( MSFT )

, Elon Musk's X and Match Group ( MTCH ) on Wednesday

joined "Fortnite" video game maker Epic Games' protest that

Apple ( AAPL ) has failed to honor a court-ordered injunction

governing payments in its lucrative App Store.

The technology companies, which developed some of the most

popular apps in the App Store, said Apple ( AAPL ) was in "clear

violation" of the Sept. 2021 injunction by making it difficult

to steer consumers to cheaper means to pay for digital content.

Apple ( AAPL ) declined to comment specifically on the

accusation, which was contained in a filing with the Oakland,

California federal court.

It referred to its Jan. 16 statement that it had fully

complied with the injunction, which it said would protect

consumers and "the integrity of Apple's ( AAPL ) ecosystem" while

ensuring that developers do not get a free ride.

Epic had sued Apple ( AAPL ) in 2020, saying it violated antitrust

law by requiring consumers to obtain apps through the App Store

and charging developers up to 30% commissions on purchases.

The injunction required Apple ( AAPL ) to let developers provide

links and buttons to direct consumers to alternative payment

options.

Last week, Epic demanded that Apple ( AAPL ) be held in contempt,

saying new rules and a new 27% fee on developers made the links

effectively useless.

In Wednesday's filing, the technology companies said Apple's ( AAPL )

conduct "for all practical purposes" entrenches anti-steering

rules that the court found illegal, propping up Apple's ( AAPL )

"excessive" commissions and harming consumers and developers.

"Apple's ( AAPL ) restrictions on where and how developers can

communicate with their users about their options for purchasing

in-app content create significant barriers to competition and

artificially inflate prices," the filing said.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear

Apple's ( AAPL ) appeal from the injunction. It also decided against

hearing Epic's appeal of lower court findings that Apple's ( AAPL )

policies did not violate federal antitrust law.

Apple ( AAPL ) has until April 3 to formally respond to Epic's

filing. The company is based in Cupertino, California, while

Epic is based in Cary, North Carolina.

The case is Epic Games Inc v Apple Inc ( AAPL ), U.S. District Court,

Northern District of California, No. 20-05640.