A class action lawsuit by app developers is seeking £785m from Apple. Apple’s fees for in-app purchases in the App Store are said to be excessive and abusive.
Apple has been sued in the UK for £785 million (€913 million) in damages. The class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of 1,500 British developers, alleges that the Cupertino company abused its dominant market position to levy fees of between 15 and 30 percent on in-app sales in the App Store TechCrunch reported.
The plaintiffs also argue that the fees deprive developers of revenue that could otherwise be invested in research and development to fuel the development of innovative apps. Similar accusations are raised by antitrust authorities in other countries.
Abusive App Fee Pricing
The lawsuit was filed by Sean Ennis, a professor at the University of East Anglia’s Center for Competition Policy. “Apple’s fees to app developers are inflated and only possible because of its monopoly over distributing apps on iPhones and iPads,” Ennis said in a statement. “The fees are inherently unfair and constitute abusive pricing. They harm app developers and app buyers alike.”
Apple has been accused of anti-competitive business practices in Germany, France, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea and the USA in recent years. Most of the complaints relate to the App Store. In South Korea, for example, Apple now has to allow alternative payment systems in the App Store. In Great Britain, the competition authority CMA has been examining the terms and conditions of the App Store since 2021.
In the EU, however, Apple has to adapt its terms and conditions to the Digital Markets Act. The law stipulates that Apple must also allow alternatives for installing iOS apps, such as sideloading or third-party app stores.