On Thursday, November 13, the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the UK officially rejected Apple’s appeal regarding the earlier decision to pay substantial compensation to App Store users. The ruling found that Apple had abused its market dominance by charging unfair high commissions to app developers. However, Apple can still appeal to a higher court.
Last month, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled against Apple after a hearing. The court determined that Apple had abused its market dominance by stifling competition in the app distribution market and charging excessive and unfair commissions.
This ruling potentially exposes Apple to a hefty compensation of £1.2 billion (US$15.84 billion). Previously, Apple had faced pressure from regulatory authorities in the US and Europe for charging developers high fees.
Despite CAT’s rejection of Apple’s appeal request, the company can still apply directly to the Court of Appeal. Apple’s lawyers stated that they would submit relevant applications to the Court of Appeal within 21 days.
In a statement, an Apple spokesperson expressed that the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s decision “misunderstands the dynamic and competitive app ecosystem,” and overlooks the benefits Apple brings to developers and consumers.
In 2021, the lawsuit was filed by British scholar Rachael Kent on behalf of consumers. In court documents on Thursday, her lawyers indicated that if losses incurred from October 2015 to February 2024 were calculated along with interest, Apple’s total compensation could amount to approximately £1.2 billion.
Kent stated, “This lawsuit is a marathon, not a sprint, but we are one step closer to returning the rightful money to App Store users.”
Last month’s ruling stemmed from complaints by European antitrust regulators against Apple, arguing that the terms of the App Store violated regulations aimed at curbing monopolistic behavior by large tech companies.
According to CAT’s ruling, the commissions Apple charged developers (typically 30%) exceeded a reasonable level by 17.5%, constituting “overcharging” developers. The court also found that app developers passed 50% of the excess commissions collected by Apple on to consumers.
Apple, on the other hand, argued that CAT unreasonably compared its App Store fees with fees for other platform services, claiming those platforms did not offer the full range of tools that Apple provides. Additionally, Apple developers did not pass on platform costs to users.