A foundation led by Alexander Klöpping, a Dutch entrepreneur, is gathering plaintiffs for a class-action lawsuit against Google and Apple. Klöpping says Apple and Google are abusing their dominance by charging app developers up to 30 percent commission for app store purchases.
The App Store Claims Foundation, led by Klöpping, said on its website: “Apple and Google exclude competition from app stores and digital payment systems and charge for digital purchases made through their app stores. Excessive commissions of up to 30% are against competition law.” Klöpping believes this is unfair treatment towards app developers as well as the users who end up bearing the cost.
According to the foundation, Dutch users have handed over nearly 1 billion euros to Apple and Google since the tech giants launched their respective app stores. The foundation intends to sue both Apple and Google for the incurred costs. “To this end, we will take collective action against Apple and Google to recover losses for all users of both app stores,” the foundation said.
Apple has yet to respond to a comment request. A spokesperson for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, declined to comment directly, but stated that the business had decreased Google Play fees.
This is not the first time Apple has been embroiled in issues surrounding the App Store. As early as 2019 the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) commenced an investigation into whether Apple had abused its position as a dominating force in the market. In December 2021, ACM announced that Apple’s App Store had monopolistic activities that needed to be addressed.
