Apple faces antitrust lawsuit in the US highest court over the "monopoly of the App Store"

WASHINGTON: When iPhone users want to change their darkness, identify stars and constellations or join the latest craze for video games, they turn to the Apple App Store, where any software application purchased also includes a discount 30% for Apple.

This commission is a key issue in an antitrust case that must reach the US Supreme Court on Monday. The nine judges will hear Apple's arguments to escape damages in a lawsuit accusing it of violating federal antitrust laws by monopolizing the iPhone app market and forcing consumers to pay more. that they should not.

Judges will finally decide a broader question: Can consumers even sue for damages in an antitrust case like this?

Apple, which appealed a lower court ruling that revived the proposed class action lawsuit by a consumer group, said no, citing a decades-old Supreme Court precedent. The company said that standing on the side of iPhone users who had started the lawsuit would threaten the burgeoning field of e-commerce, which generates billions of dollars each year in US retail sales.

Complainants and antitrust watch groups have stated that if judges close the courthouse doors to those who buy consumer goods, monopoly conduct could develop unchecked. "Many technology platforms will begin to argue that consumers do not have standing to bring antitrust lawsuits against us," said Sandeep Vaheesan, legal director of the Open Markets Institute, an antitrust advocacy group. based in Washington.

"Uber could say, we only provide communication services to carpool drivers," said Vaheesan. "In the event of an antitrust problem, drivers can make a claim, but the passengers do not have standing."

IPhone users have accused Apple of violating federal antitrust laws by monopolizing the sale of paid apps, which has resulted in higher prices than those offered by others. applications.

Although developers set prices for their apps, Apple collects payments from iPhone users, retaining a 30% commission on every purchase. One of the contentious points in this case is whether the application developers recover the cost of this commission by passing it on to consumers. Developers earned more than $ 26 billion in 2017, an increase of 30% over 2016, according to Apple. The company said that it acted only as an agent for application developers who sell applications to consumers via the App Store.