London's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) on Thursday ruled against Apple in a UK App Store commission case, finding that the company abused its dominant market position to charge developers unfair commissions. The ruling could result in Apple paying hundreds of millions of pounds in damages, while class action plaintiffs are seeking a total of £1.5 billion (approximately 14.257 billion yuan).
The CAT ruled that between October 2015 and 2020, Apple abused its dominant position by eliminating competition in the app market and charging an "excessive and unfair 30% commission." The judge ruled that a reasonable commission should be 17.5%, and the difference constituted excessive fees. This case is the first to proceed to trial under the UK class action system against a tech giant, setting a precedent for similar lawsuits against companies like Google and Amazon.
Apple quickly announced its intention to appeal, emphasizing that the ruling "misrepresents the competitive app economy" and overlooks the successful platform and consumer safety guarantees provided by the App Store to developers. The ruling comes at a sensitive time as global regulators step up their antitrust scrutiny of tech giants and could have far-reaching implications for Apple's business model. The final compensation amount and the outcome of the appeal will be decided at a hearing next month.
