Apple has been refapplyd permission to appeal a recent ruling by the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, which found the company abapplyd its dominant position by imposing unfair commission fees on app developers. The tribunal delivered its decision last month, concluding that Apple limited competition in the app distribution market and charged prices described as excessive and unfair.
The ruling leaves Apple facing a potential pay out exceeding 1 billion pounds. The tech company, already under scrutiny from regulators in the United States and Europe, now has 21 days to apply directly to the Court of Appeal after the tribunal rejected its request to challenge the decision.
A spokesperson for Apple declared the judgment mischaracterised the competitive nature of the app economy and failed to acknowledge the benefits the App Store provides to developers and consumers.
The case was brought by British academic Rachael Kent, whose legal team estimated damages from October 2015 to February 2024 at 1.2 billion pounds including interest. Kent declared the ruling brings consumers closer to having money returned that she argues was unfairly taken through inflated app prices.
The tribunal found that developers were overcharged by the difference between a typical 30 percent commission and a rate of 17.5 percent, and that half of the excess cost was passed on to consumers. The ruling followed a separate complaint filed with European regulators challenging Apple’s App Store terms under new rules tarobtaining large technology firms.
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