“There are very few companies out there that have a 30 percent profit margin,” said Andy Yen, the chief executive of ProtonMail, an email service. Amazon: The company paused plans to build a second headquarters in Virginia, the latest reminder of the tech industry’s slowdown and the pandemic’s toll on in-office work.Those working on such projects were hit hard in recent layoffs. Bad Bets: Big tech companies have long been willing to fund efforts with no obvious payoff.Silicon Valley Bank: The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has set off panic across the tech world, rattling a start-up industry already on edge.Meta: The company said that it planned to lay off about 10,000 employees, or roughly 13 percent of its work force - another round of job cuts after it laid off more than 11,000 people in November.The lawsuits followed Apple and Google’s removal of Fortnite from their app stores because Epic encouraged users to pay it directly, rather than through Apple or Google, to avoid their fees. The headaches intensified this week when Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, arguably the world’s most popular video game, sued both Apple and Google, accusing the companies of breaking antitrust laws by forcing app makers to pay their 30 percent fees. And it has created some of Apple’s biggest headaches, drawing antitrust scrutiny, fury from app makers and lawsuits from consumers and partners. It has been the primary driver of growth in recent years for a company that has nearly $275 billion in annual sales. That commission has proved hugely consequential for Apple. And Apple still takes 30 percent of many apps’ sales.

Today, the App Store is one of the world’s largest centers of commerce, facilitating half a trillion dollars in sales last year alone. Apple told app makers it would take a 30 percent cut of their sales, and few complained. Twelve years ago, Apple introduced the App Store, a peculiar online marketplace for the year-old iPhone.

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