HomeTechnologyApple can delist apps "with or without cause," judge says in loss for Musi app

Apple can delist apps "with or without cause," judge says in loss for Musi app

TechnologyMarch 19, 2026
1 min read
Apple can delist apps "with or without cause," judge says in loss for Musi app
Judge tosses Musi case against Apple, sanctions lawyers for "mak[ing] up facts."
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Musi, a free music-streaming app that had tens of millions of iPhone downloads and garnered plenty of controversy over its method of acquiring music, has lost an attempt to get back on Apple's App Store. A federal judge dismissed Musi's lawsuit against Apple with prejudice and sanctioned Musi's lawyers for "mak[ing] up facts to fill the perceived gaps in Musi’s case."

Musi built a streaming service without striking its own deals with copyright holders. It did so by playing music from YouTube, writing in its 2024 lawsuit against Apple that "the Musi app plays or displays content based on the user’s own interactions with YouTube and enhances the user experience via Musi’s proprietary technology." Musi's app displayed its own ads but let users remove them for a one-time fee of $5.99.

Musi claimed it complied with YouTube's terms, but Apple removed it from the App Store in September 2024. Musi does not offer an Android app. Musi alleged that Apple delisted its app based on “unsubstantiated” intellectual property claims from YouTube and that Apple violated its own Developer Program License Agreement (DPLA) by delisting the app.

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Source: Ars Technica

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