Apple faces $1 billion UK lawsuit by app developers over App Store fees

Apple is facing a $1 billion lawsuit from more than 1,500 UK app developers who claim the company’s App Store fees are unfair. The developers say that Apple’s 15% to 30% commissions on in-app purchases are too high and stifle competition.

iPhone News - 26-07-2023 15:03

Apple has previously said that 85% of developers on the App Store do not pay any commission and that it helps European developers to access markets and customers in 175 countries around the world through the App Store.

The UK lawsuit at the Competition Appeal Tribunal is being brought by Sean Ennis, a professor at the Centre for Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia and a former economist at the OECD, on behalf of 1,566 app developers.

“Apple’s charges to app developers are excessive, and only possible due to its monopoly on the distribution of apps onto iPhones and iPads,” Ennis said in a statement. “The charges are unfair in their own right, and constitute abusive pricing. They harm app developers and also app buyers.”

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