Apple was found guilty of abusing its App Store monopoly and faces a $2 billion compensation claim.

The UK Competition Appeal Court concluded that Apple charged unfair fees to app developers, forcing users to refund money, and could be awarded up to $2 billion in compensation.

Apple is accused of preventing competition in the app distribution market and charging "excessive and unfair" fees to developers - Photo: REUTERS

On October 23, the Competition Appeal Court (CAT) in the UK ruled that Apple abused its dominant market position by charging unfair fees to app developers.

This is a heavy blow, potentially causing the US technology giant to have to pay up to 2 billion USD in damages.

According to the CAT ruling, Apple abused its monopoly position from October 2015 to the end of 2020, preventing competition in the app distribution market and charging "excessive and unfair" fees to developers.

The court affirmed that Apple charges excessive fees to app developers and that these fees are passed on to users, so users in this case are entitled to a refund with interest.

Responding to CAT's statement, Apple representatives expressed their opposition to the ruling and announced that the company would file an appeal.

The CAT ruled against Apple following a class action lawsuit brought by academic Rachael Kent of King's College, University of London, on behalf of millions of iPhone and iPad users in the United Kingdom.

Plaintiffs allege Apple charges users to download apps and takes a commission of up to 30% on those transactions, a fee that is significantly higher than that charged by competitors.

Kent argues that Apple has monopolistic practices because many iPhone and iPad apps can only be downloaded from the App Store. In the lawsuit, Kent is asking Apple to refund British customers, with about 19.6 million people being compensated a total of £1.5 billion ($2 billion).

A hearing is scheduled for next November to determine the amount of damages and consider Apple's appeal.

VNA

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/apple-bi-phan-lam-dung-doc-quyen-app-store-doi-mat-khoan-boi-thuong-2-ti-usd-20251024110116433.htm