Apple faces UK class action lawsuit for “anti-competitive” 30% fee

Apple is facing a class action lawsuit from UK developers alleging that the App Store’s 30% fee is anti-competitive.

As reported by Bloomberg, Apple could be paying back up to £785 million in fees to 13,000 developers. The claim alleged that Apple’s 30% cut creates an “anti-competitive tax on the nation’s tech industry,” the publication said.

The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal gave the greenlight for the suit to go ahead, dismissing Apple’s arguments to have it blocked.

The claim is led by UK competition policy professor Sean Ennis.

Apple is also currently the subject of an investigation from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority alongside Google, looking into their dominance of the mobile market.

The firm was also criticised by Microsoft earlier this year for its commission fee, saying it makes it “impossible to effectively monetise its cloud gaming service offering” on iOS as a result.

The CMA shut down its investigation into Apple’s in-app payment system in August, which was looking into whether the company was in breach of the new DMA regulations.

Around the same time, Apple updated its business terms in the EU to allow developers to link to external payment systems.