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Apple hit with £1 billion app developer lawsuit excessive fees
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Apple is facing a £1 billion ($1.28bn) lawsuit from 1,566 UK app developers over alleged excessive charges imposed on its App Store platform.
The claimant Professor Sean Ennis represents app creators, who argue that Apple's commission rates of 15 to 30 percent are unfairly high.
The complaint alleges it gives the tech giant monopoly on app distribution for iPhones and iPads.
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Professor Ennis claims these charges constitute abusive pricing and harm app developers and consumers.
This criticism echoes antitrust regulators' concerns regarding Apple's App Store practices in various countries.
Professor Ennis told Sky News: "Apple's charges to app developers are excessive, and only possible due to its monopoly on the distribution of apps onto iPhones and iPads.
"The charges are unfair in their own right, and constitute abusive pricing. They harm app developers and also app buyers."
Apple has defended itself in the suit, saying 85 percent of developers on the App Store do not pay any commission.
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It also argues the platform provides valuable access to markets and customers in 175 countries for European developers.
Apple's services business, including Apple Pay, Apple Arcade, and the App Store, has greatly driven its growth, contributing around $80 billion (£62 billion) in annual revenues.
In November, the UK Competition and Market Authority (CMA) investigated the dominance of Apple and Google's mobile browsers in the cloud market.
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