Two developers are suing Apple in the United States. The developers claim that the company has had a monopoly on the sale and distribution of iOS apps for many years. The two argue for the arrival of new app stores for iOS.
The lawsuit must become a class action, which means that it may represent anyone who has ever sold an iOS app in the U.S., reports The Verge.
The developers complain about multiple points on the App Store. They claim that Apple’s strict rules prevent innovation. In addition, purchases from and within iOS apps are reduced and overall development limited. The two also have problems with Apple’s financial requirements. For example, developers have to pay 99 dollars a year, give 30 percent of most transactions to the company and prices have to end at .99.
However, the biggest complaint from the developers revolves around the fact that the App Store is the only place to distribute iOS apps. If an app is rejected, it cannot be offered to iOS users in any other way. If there were more app stores, it would give a “boost in output and sales transactions”, because more people would find and buy apps. That’s why, according to the developers, there should be more app stores.
Previous complaints
It’s not the first time there’s been a complaint about Apple’s monopoly. As recently as March this year, Spotify lodged a complaint with the European Commission about the iPhone manufacturer’s payment system. CEO Daniel Ek stated that the 30 per cent rule for transactions that have to go to Apple is unfair.
“If we pay this tax, it would force us to raise the price of our Premium Membership artificially, well above the price of Apple Music. In this way we cannot offer a competitive price”, says Ek at the time.
In April, there were complaints from other developers that Apple’s Parental Controls apps had been forced to remove features. Also, certain apps were completely removed from the App Store. The developers claim that this is how Apple wants to put forward its own parental control apps. Security company Kaspersky filed a similar complaint with the Russian authorities.
This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.
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