Apple App Developers Jump on Silicon Valley Antitrust Bandwagon

Apple is under fire from the developers of basketball-workout and baby-naming apps as antitrust fever sweeps Silicon Valley, according to Bloomberg. Amid the revelation that Apple is among four titans of the Valley facing possible U.S. antitrust probes, the developers sued the company claiming its App Store suppresses competition.

They allege that Apple improperly forces them to sell through the App Store, takes a 30% cut of sales and “dictates minimum and greater price points, which prevent developers from offering paid products at less than $.99 or at price points ending in anything other than $.99.“ They say it’s hard to make decent money under these constraints and in a store crowded with more than 2 million apps. “From the outset, Apple attained monopoly power in the U.S. market for iOS app and in-app product distribution services by slamming the door shut on any and all potential competitors,“ according to the complaint.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that consumers can sue Apple over claims that it uses its market dominance to artificially inflate prices in the store, opening the door for lawyers pressing the case to seek hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of consumers. The high court’s 5-4 ruling also foreshadowed the prospect of developers suing Apple over alleged monopolistic practices.

The two plaintiffs in new case are seeking to represent a nationwide class of developers whose products are sold through the App Store. They’re seeking an order barring Apple from anticompetitive practices and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, plus unspecified damages, which may be tripled under antitrust law.