WP Engine Gets Legal Win
Source: YouTube · The PrimeTime · published Dec 16, 2024 · 24:27
WP Engine has won a preliminary injunction against WordPress.com, restoring access to its plugins and ending the forced "not affiliated with WP Engine" checkbox requirement, which was widely seen as anti-competitive and vindictive 1:13.
Key Takeaways:
• WordPress.org blocked WP Engine’s access to its plugin repository and replaced its ACF plugin with a custom version, causing confusion and significant user backlash 0:30-0:47.
• The court ruled that WordPress.com’s actions caused irreparable harm and violated fair competition, finding Mullen W’s behavior to be intentionally harmful and retaliatory 1:24-1:39.
• WP Engine’s hosting business, which relied on WordPress.org, was targeted with a public tracker of 28,000+ sites leaving, and Mullen W openly celebrated the move, drawing criticism for childlike, anti-competitive behavior 8:44-9:08.
• The ruling mandates that WordPress.com remove the checkbox and customer tracking list, marking a reversal of a months-long hostile campaign 1:33-1:38.
This case highlights the dangers of centralized control in open-source ecosystems and raises concerns about monopolistic behavior, trust erosion, and the potential for retaliatory actions against competitors.
Sources:
- 1:13 Judge grants preliminary injunction to WP Engine, restoring access to WordPress.org resources.
- 0:30-0:47 WP Engine’s ACF plugin was replaced by WordPress.org’s version, leading to user confusion and frustration.
- 1:24-1:39 Court finds Mullen W’s actions constitute intentional harm and anti-compe
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First 800 characters of the transcript
I saw this tweet and I figured this was going to go places I can't find the automatic tweet anymore I think it got deleted but this is uh WP engine they have been granted a motion to which that they can have their ACF plug-in back for those that don't know WordPress not only shut down their access to having like you know wordpress's npm repository so that means WP engine can't be grabbed from that they also got uh shut down to the point where WordPress took over their plugin and made it so that when you went to a the ACF you actually got wordpress's version of it they like took over the the name and so it was completely confusing uh a lot of people obviously were pretty dang upset about that you even had to check a check box that said if you were to log into wordpress.org you actually had …