$1B Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple Allowed to Proceed
British developers can now move forward with a billion-dollar class action lawsuit against Apple after the tech giant’s attempt to dismiss the case was denied for the second time.
The developers involved in the antitrust case are seeking up to £785M ($995M) in repayment of commissions on apps, marking a significant challenge to Apple’s monopoly over the sale of iPhone apps.
The argument at the heart of this case revolves around Apple’s exclusive control over the sale of iOS apps until recently, which allowed the company to dictate commission rates that developers had no choice but to agree to.
Similar antitrust cases in the EU and the US have put pressure on Apple to make changes. In the EU, the Digital Markets Act forced Apple to open up iPhone and iPad app sales to third-party app stores, while in the US, a case brought by Epic Games led to a ruling requiring Apple to allow developers to link to alternative in-app purchasing methods.
In the UK, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple on behalf of 1,566 British app developers, which has since grown to represent 13,000 developers. Despite Apple’s attempts to block the lawsuit based on jurisdictional grounds, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has allowed the case to proceed, potentially putting Apple on the hook for repaying hefty fees to developers.
According to UK competition policy professor Sean Ennis, who is spearheading the claim, Apple may be facing a repayment of £785 million to thousands of developers. Ennis brings valuable experience from his previous roles in the European Commission and the US Department of Justice, further bolstering the case against Apple.
