Apple Hit With Landmark Class Action Over App Store Fees In UK

Apple faces a significant setback in the United Kingdom after losing a major class action lawsuit concerning its App Store commissions. On Thursday, the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London found that Apple abused its market dominance by imposing excessive charges on its App Store, potentially resulting in a £1.5 billion compensation payout to consumers.

The legal action was launched on behalf of approximately 20 million British iPhone and iPad users. Estimated damages could reach £75 per person. The case, led by King’s College London lecturer Rachael Kent, asserted that Apple earned excessive profits by limiting competition in app distribution and in-app purchases. Criticism from developers such as Epic Games and Spotify has long focused on Apple’s commission rates of up to 30 per cent, which many see as overbearing and anti-competitive.

Apple maintains that its App Store helps developers market and distribute their products and that it charges lower fees to smaller businesses. Despite this, the court ruling paves the way for other mass legal actions under the UK’s relatively new collective action regime, enabling consumers and small firms to challenge major technology firms in unprecedented ways.

The company plans to appeal the decision. A spokesperson stated Apple strongly disagrees with the verdict, arguing that the App Store operates in a highly competitive environment and provides important privacy and security advantages. The outcome of the appeal now holds significant implications for consumers, developers and the broader technology sector.

This decision arrives amid broader tensions between Apple and the UK government regarding digital security. Officials in Britain have demanded backdoor access to Apple’s secure iCloud storage, a request Apple declined by refusing to compromise its encryption standards within the country. Meanwhile, despite Apple doubling its UK investment in the past five years to £18 billion and sustaining more than half a million jobs, its absence from a recent £31 billion UK-US technology agreement underscored its cautious stance on international policy and privacy issues.

The UK’s ruling stands as a milestone for collective action litigation against major technology platforms, signalling heightened scrutiny around dominance and consumer rights in digital markets. Millions of UK consumers now await clarity on possible compensation as Apple continues its legal bid to overturn the finding.