British developers have been given the green light to pursue their $1 billion class action against Apple, following the rejection of Apple’s second attempt to dismiss the case. Developers are demanding up to £785 million (nearly €1 billion) in refunds of commissions taken from app sales, highlighting ongoing concerns about Apple’s monopolistic control over the distribution of applications for iPhone.
Monopoly in application distribution
The crux of the legal argument is that before the recent changes, Apple’s App Store was the only way for developers to distribute iPhone apps, giving Apple considerable monopolistic influence over iPhone sales. iOS apps. This allowed Apple to dictate commission rates, which developers had to adhere to.
In the EU, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to open its platform to third-party app stores, although Apple’s implementation has been criticized for being less developer-friendly, often described as a ” malicious compliance.” This change, however, set a precedent for regulatory intervention in Apple’s app distribution practices.
On the United States side, Epic Games managed to get Apple to allow developers to direct users to alternative payment methods for in-app content. Despite this, Apple’s compliance was able to protect its revenue model with a 27% commission, which could still change with Epic’s new procedure underway.
The ongoing class action in the United Kingdom
But let’s get back to today’s topic. Launched last year, the UK lawsuit represents more than 1,566 British developers, now expanded to 13,000, who claim Apple’s control over app distribution has led to unfairly high commissions. Apple’s efforts to have the complaint dismissed have failed twice, with the latest rejection coming from the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). As reported Bloombergthe court rejected Apple’s argument that the case should not proceed due to jurisdictional issues regarding app sales made outside the UK.
According to Professor Sean Ennis, a competition policy expert who is leading the complaint, Apple could potentially owe affected developers up to £785 million. Ennis, with his experience in senior roles at both the European Commission and the US Department of Justice, has built a strong case against Apple’s App Store practices.
