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Tim Cook, President and CEO of Apple Inc., listens on Wednesday, March 6, at a meeting of the US Advisory Committee on Labor Market Policy with US President Donald Trump, in the White House dining room, Washington DC (United States). , 2019.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple is being sued by developers who claim to use its power of "abusive monopoly" to force them to pay a high commission rate for the sale of apps via the App Store.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, comes as Apple and other major high-tech companies such as Google and Facebook face an increasingly important antitrust review, including a possible US Department of Justice investigation. Justice, according to Reuters. The Supreme Court recently ruled that consumers could take a different action in court, alleging that the company inflates the price of iPhone software by taking a 30% commission on app sales.
In the new class action lawsuit filed in the San Jose Division of the US District Court of the Northern District of California, developers complain that they have no choice but to sell their apps on the App Store. d & # 39; Apple.
"[F]From the outset, Apple gained monopoly power in the US market for application and product delivery services built into the iOS app by closing the door to all potential competitors. And since, the door is barred, "said the complaint.
Plaintiffs, iOS developers Donald R. Cameron and Pure Sweat Basketball Inc., said in the lawsuit that Apple's 30% commission paid for paid and integrated product sales was "supra competitive". and that developers had no choice but to pay the $ 99 annual development fee to sell in the Apple market.
This argument is similar to that of Spotify, which filed its own lawsuit against Apple with the European Union's competition authorities. Spotify has accused Apple of anti-competitive behavior by using its commission fees, which it says promotes Apple's streaming music service compared to its competitors. Apple responded to Spotify's complaint by stating that it was creating a secure market for application developers, which explains the reduction in application sales.
In response to a request for comment, Apple pointed to the new website launched, touting the opening of the App Store to compete. On the site, Apple calls the App Store "a store hosting the competition" and gives examples of several competing applications and services of its own.
– Josh Lipton from CNBC contributed to this report.
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