Apple became the target of a US$1 billion (approximately Rs.8,200 crore) class action lawsuit filed by more than 1,500 app developers in the UK over the matter on Tuesday app store Fees.
Apple’s services business, which includes the App Store, has seen rapid revenue growth in recent years and is now around $20 billion (about 1,63,400 crore) per quarter.
However, the 15 to 30 percent commissions that the company charges some app makers for using an in-app payment system have been criticized by app developers and targeted by antitrust authorities in several countries.
Apple has previously stated that 85 percent of App Store developers pay no commission and that it helps European developers access markets and customers in 175 countries around the world through the App Store.
The UK case before the Competition Appeal Tribunal is being brought by Sean Ennis, a professor at the University of East Anglia’s Center for Competition Policy and a former economist at the OECD, on behalf of 1,566 app developers.
He is advised by the law firm Geradin Partners.
“Apple’s fees for app developers are inflated and only possible because of Apple’s monopoly in 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.”
© Thomson Reuters 2023
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
