A rare App Store antitrust victory for Apple after China’s lawsuit fails

Apple scored a rare victory in App Store antitrust law as a Chinese court dismissed a lawsuit accusing it of charging excessive commissions.

The iPhone maker is facing an onslaught of antitrust laws and lawsuits around the world, particularly regarding the App Store…

Antitrust battles in the App Store

Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) imposed a number of changes on companies found to be taking advantage of their dominant position in the market in an anti-competitive manner. One of the companies affected by this situation was Apple, which issued a ruling stating that its monopoly on the sale of iPhone applications was unlawful.

The company was required to allow third-party app stores to sell iPhone apps and has so far responded in what is being described as “malicious compliance” and is under investigation for possible non-compliance.

Apple faces similar regulations in many countries around the world, with India and Japan being the most recent examples. He’s also fighting a US Department of Justice lawsuit covering much of the same issue – as well as a disgruntled judge in the not-quite-resolved Epic Games case.

But Apple is winning in China

In 2021, an iPhone owner in China sued Apple, claiming the company’s high commissions for iOS apps meant consumers paid more than those with Android phones.

South China Morning Mail informs that the court rejected this request and dismissed the case.

The Shanghai court said that after comparing app store commissions, it did not find that the commissions charged by Apple were “significantly higher” than those on Android platforms and that there was no evidence to suggest that these commissions directly led to higher prices for consumers , according to the verdict obtained by the SCMP has not yet been published.

However, an appeal is planned

However, this may not be the end of the matter.

In a blog post published on the social media platform WeChat, Jin’s legal representative in the Shanghai case wrote that he planned to appeal to the Supreme People’s Court of China.

They “strongly believe” that Apple’s practices constitute an abuse of market dominance and violate Chinese consumers’ right to choose and engage in fair transactions, said Wang Qiongfei, founding partner of law firm Kinding.

At the time of writing, Apple has not responded.

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