Apple is being accused of having a monopoly on the smartphone industry in various nations across the world, and the firm is defending itself against these claims. The IT behemoth has filed a lawsuit against Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), alleging that the agency’s warning to the firm about market monopoly was unconstitutional.
FAS issued a warning to Apple in August of this year, telling the company to “stop misuse in the market” with its App Store fee, which is levied on each in-app purchase. Apple was given until September 30 to address the purported problem, according to the regulatory agency at the time. The corporation was even warned that it might face a fine if it did not take immediate action.
Following the warning, Apple did not make any changes to its income model, prompting the Federal Trade Commission to file a lawsuit against the corporation for failing to comply with the request. If Apple is found to be in violation of the law, the company may be subject to a fine computed on the basis of its income in Russia.
According to RT, Apple has now filed an appeal with the court system to have the warning issued by FAS overturned. As a result, the business hopes to disprove the body’s claims that Apple has uncontested control over the market through its App Store sales.
Apple says that it demands a fee of up to 30% on each sale made by its consumers and that this is the case. According to Apple, the cash will be used to improve the technology integration and back-end performance of programmes available on the App Store. Earlier this month, the business said that the commission would also be required if transactions were to take place on the web, i.e. on platforms other than the App Store, according to a legal filing made in the United States.
The firm now exclusively enables in-app purchases through the App Store for all iOS users, which is a business model that is rapidly being challenged across the world, including in the United States. In addition to the United States and Russia, similar claims against Apple have been levelled against the company in Europe by the European Union.
Russian iPhone users and iOS developers expressed their dissatisfaction to the country’s regulatory agency, citing the fact that in-app things sold on the web were accessible for less than the price of similar items offered through the App Store. The difference was simply that the App Store reduced the amount of money that Apple charged the developers for each transaction.
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has been campaigning for legislation that would oblige Apple to allow app developers to offer other payment choices to customers. As can be imagined, doing so will have a direct influence on the company’s income stream, which is generated by the apps that are available on the App Store. It remains to be seen whether Apple will be able to retain this position or whether it will be forced to comply with new standards in the future.
