[ad_1]
The Supreme Court is questioning whether Apple's App Store is a monopoly and whether consumers can sue the company. on the iOS ecosystem. Currently, the App Store is the only official way to download apps for your iPhone or iPad. But in 2011, a consumer group filed a clbad action claiming the model was a violation of antitrust laws.
"Our badertion is that, with several vendors, several app vendors, we would be able to buy them [the apps] at a lower price," David Frederick, a consumer lawyer, told the High Court an official report.
Apple however asks the Supreme Court to dismiss the case. His argument: the company simply provides a market for applications.
In argument, the judges focused on how Apple derives revenue from the App Store: with every sale, the company removes a 30% discount from the developer. Frederick says that this fee structure can cause consumers to pay too much for their apps when there is nowhere else to buy them.
In his defense, Apple said that the company plays no role in setting the price of an application. this decision belongs to the developer of the application. "Consumers do not pay 30% commission," company attorney Daniel Wall told the court.
However, some of the judges expressed skepticism at Apple's arguments. The plaintiffs "claim that their prejudice is the removal of a cheaper price," Judge Sonia Sotomayor told Wall.
Judge Elena Kagan also said that all app purchases go through Apple, not the developer. "I pay Apple credit card information directly to Apple from my point of view, I just started a one-step deal with Apple," he said. she said.
Apple asked the Supreme Court to hear what was going on. the case in 2017, after a lower federal court overturned an earlier attempt by the company to quash the clbad action against it. If the Supreme Court rules against Apple, the company is likely to face more antitrust litigation and the possibility of paying millions of dollars in damages.
Source link
