Apple is fighting back against a massive £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) class action lawsuit in London, where it stands accused of leveraging its market dominance to impose exorbitant commissions on app developers—charges critics argue were never justified by economic value. The case, the first UK class action trial against a Big Tech firm, could set the stage for sweeping changes in the app marketplace.
Consumers Claim Apple Profited From an Unfair Monopoly
At the heart of the lawsuit, brought by consumer advocate Rachael Kent on behalf of 19.6 million UK consumers, is the claim that Apple unfairly exploited its stronghold over the App Store. Developers, forced to accept commission rates of up to 30%, allegedly had no alternative but to pass those inflated costs onto users via subscriptions and in-app purchases.
“We are not saying that any price set by a monopolist is automatically unfair,” argued Tim Ward KC of Monckton Chambers, representing Kent. “But Apple’s rates were never set based on actual economic value. If they had charged 3%, we wouldn’t be here today.”
