“The Supreme Court asked the Trump administration for advice on a consumer lawsuit that accuses Apple Inc. of trying to monopolize the market for iPhone apps so it can charge excessive commissions,” Greg Stohr reports for Bloomberg.
“The request to U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco suggests the justices are interested in hearing Apple’s appeal. The company contends consumers can’t press the antitrust lawsuit because the 30 percent commission is levied on the app developers, not the purchasers,” Stohr reports. “A lawyer pressing the case previously said Apple could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars if the suit succeeds.”
“A federal appeals court allowed the suit, which seeks class-action status,” Stohr reports. “The panel said Apple can be sued because it is serving as a distributor, selling directly to consumers through its App Store and pocketing a portion of the price of each app.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple created the entire market. It did not exist before Apple invented the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Apple built and maintains the App Store. They can charge whatever commission they want.
If you don’t like it, choose another phone or tablet. Apple has no monopoly in smartphones or tablets (they only have a monopoly on excellent smartphones and tablets.)
Also how cheap and/or petty do you have to be to sue over apps that average 89-cents each?