Apple"s legal battles over its competition practices in many parts of the world keep piling up. In early 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that iPhone users were entitled to file a lawsuit against Apple due to the 30% revenue cut from purchases made on the App Store
Today, a new class action suit was filed against the tech giant for allegedly making exorbitant charges on approximately 20 million consumers in the UK. The lawsuit claims that the App Store"s 30% tax was "excessive" for consumers and calls for at least £1.5 million in compensation. Under the class action suit, any iPhone or iPad user in the country who purchased apps and subscriptions as well as those who made in-app purchases through the App Store since 2015 can claim compensation.
Rachael Kent, who led the filing of the suit and teaches at King’s College London, said in a statement that Apple"s abusive dominance in the app store market has had adverse impact on consumers. The suit was filed in London.
That said, the Cupertino-based company denied the claims for lack of merit and said it would be willing to discuss its "commitment to consumers and the many benefits the App Store has delivered to the U.K.’s innovation economy". The firm also compared the App Store with other digital marketplaces and reiterated that the majority of developers don"t pay Apple anything since 84% of App Store apps are free.
Apple"s latest courtroom battle comes at a time when it"s currently facing an antitrust suit filed by Epic Games in the EU earlier this year for allegedly monopolizing app distribution on the iPhone.
Source: Bloomberg