Apple is facing another antitrust lawsuit over its App Store fees, this time filed by a group of FrenchiOS app developers who are suing the tech giant in its home state of California Apple is accused of anticompetitive practices in allowing only one App Store foriOS devices which gives it a monopoly in app distribution and the ability to force developers to pay high commission on in-app purchases.
The complaint argues that these commissions, on top of Apple's annual developer program fees, cut into developers' earnings and stifle innovation, and that developers aren't permitted to offer alternative payment methods per Apple's App Store rules.
The case is one of several antitrust legal battles Apple is facing.
L'quipe 24/24, the developer of L'quipe sports news and streaming app, is one of the developers in the suit.
The group is being represented by a U.S. based law firm that won a $100 million settlement against Apple over App Store policies and recently filed a $1 billion case against Apple over antitrust issues with Apple Pay.
Steve Berman has a history of winning against the tech giants, having secured a $560 million settlement against Apple regarding e-book price- fixing. He is working with an antitrust lawyer in Paris.
Berman said that they were fresh off the heels of their hard-won settlement with Apple. We were able to get justice for U.S. developers and we are happy to see that other countries are doing the same. We intend to hold Apple to the law because we believe they have been treated unfairly.
The suit wants to force Apple to allow competition in app distribution and remove pricing mandates that restrict developers from setting their own rates. It wants to prevent Apple from raising the 15% commission for developers in its Small Business Program for at least three years.
The proposed settlement would allow Apple to communicate with their customers outside of the in-app purchase system. Subject to consumer consent and opt-out, developers would be able to communicate with customers using information collected by their apps. Apple updated its App Store rules after announcing a settlement that allowed such communication last year.
It is not the first antitrust action against Apple in France. The French Competition Authority fined the tech giant over a billion dollars in 2020 for antitrust violations related to restrictions on contracts with distributors. France Digitale, a European startup association, was working on a legal action against Apple.
The news was first reported by the news agency. Apple has yet to make a comment.
There is a complaint in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
The antitrust class-action lawsuit was filed against Apple.
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