‘Apple Tax’ Court Suit In UK Could Cost Apple Billion Dollars
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(CTN News) – Apple had no hope to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 1,500 UK-based developers against it. A UK court ruled today that the case can proceed, likely next year, despite attempt to dismiss it.
This lawsuit asserts that imposes unfairly high commission fees on app and content purchases, up to 30 percent, which is called an Apple tax.
It is alleged by the developers that is taking advantage of its dominant market position in app distribution for iPhones and other Apple devices, so they are seeking damages in exchange.
An attorney for stated in a hearing in January that UK developers could not make a claim unless the charges were incurred through the UK App Store at the time of the hearing.
According to the judge, however, this is not true, stating that:
As far as Apple is concerned, this isn’t the first time the company has faced such allegations. According to the regulations in the European Union, the company is now required to permit alternative app stores and to allow developers to process payments outside of the App Store in order to remain compliant.
As a result, Apple has had to allow developers on the App Store to introduce their own payment methods outside of the store to circumvent the high Apple tax that is imposed on the store, which has forced the Cupertino giant to adjust.
The company is still taking a cut from its developers in the form of a commission that amounts to 12 to 27%, which is only a tiny reduction in comparison to the original format of 15-30% that Apple had adopted.
Further, a number of tech giants such as Microsoft, Meta, and X have expressed dissatisfaction with Apple for not allowing its developers to include “even the most basic information” for its customers to know about alternative payment methods.
It is impossible for these developers to properly inform their customers that there are cheaper payment options available on their websites than the ones they are offering.
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