iOS developers file class action lawsuit against Apple, alleging it violates competition law

In the early morning of June 5th, Beijing time, a group of iOS developers have filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the company "deliberately used its monopoly position" to charge "profit-killing" fees to developers who want to make apps. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claiming that Apple violated the Sherman Act and California's Unfair Competition Law, requesting a jury trial on the case and requiring the company to compensate the developers.

The law firm representing the plaintiffs, Hagens Berman, won a lawsuit in 2016 against Apple and other book publishers for price fixing.

"This is not the first time we have accused Apple of anti-competitive behavior," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. "We have successfully held Apple accountable to the law and now plan to work hard to defend the rights of iOS developers who work hard to bring their creativity to the iOS App Store and want to be fairly monetized for their creations."

"Apple takes 30% of all sales in the App Store, charges an annual fee of $99, and dictates app pricing. Apple blatantly abuses its market power to the detriment of developers by forcing them to use the only platform to sell iOS apps," Bowman continued. "This would never have happened if there was strong competition."

The plaintiffs' core argument in the lawsuit is that Apple holds an unfair monopoly over which apps can land on iOS devices. Apple claims this is for security reasons, but the plaintiffs call this "exaggerated" to get developers to continue paying. "There is no reason to believe that if Apple opens its system to other vendors, other well-known vendors, including Amazon, would not be able to host the App Store and provide a trustworthy app distribution system," the lawsuit states.

Hagens Berman was also involved in a 2018 lawsuit in which Apple was accused of deliberately slowing down the iPhone. The class action lawsuit was filed by two plaintiffs and seeks to represent all developers who were charged by Apple. One of the plaintiffs is Donald R. Cameron of California, one of the co-developers of a naming app.

"Cameron priced his app at $2.99 ​​while it was available for sale on the App Store," the lawsuit states. "Cameron could have priced his app at a price higher than zero but lower than $0.99, and he likely did so in an attempt to increase sales."

The second plaintiff is an Illinois company called Pure Sweat Basketball, which developed a fitness app. The lawsuit states: "Because the monthly subscription fee of the Pure Sweat Basketball app is $4.99, the company has paid Apple a 30% commission on each sale."

Apple has not yet commented on the case.

[[267208]]