Apple critics form coalition to challenge App Store fees

The US-based company charges a commission of between 15% and 30% for apps that use its in-app payment system

Big tech has been the big winner of the crisis. Four US tech titans now have market caps above $1tn: Apple ($2.1tn), Amazon ($1.68tn), Microsoft ($1.67tn) and Google owner Alphabet ($1.06tn). AFP

A group of Apple's critics, including Spotify, Match Group and Epic Games, have joined a non-profit group that plans to advocate for legal and regulatory action to challenge the iPhone maker's App Store practices.

Apple charges a commission of between 15 per cent and 30 per cent for apps that use its in-app payment system and sets out extensive rules for apps in its App Store, which is the only way Apple allows consumers to download native apps to devices such as the iPhone.

Those practices have drawn criticism and formal legal complaints from some developers.

The Coalition for App Fairness, structured as a non-profit based in Washington and Brussels, said it plans to advocate legal changes that would force Apple to change.

Beyond Epic, Match and Spotify, other members include smaller firms such as Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain, Deezer, and Tile, along with developers from Europe including the European Publishers Council, News Media Europe and Protonmail.

Epic is suing Apple over anti-trust claims in a US federal court in California, while Spotify has filed an anti-trust complaint against Apple in the European Union.

Sarah Maxwell, a representative for the group, declined to comment on how much funding the Coalition for App Fairness has raised and from whom.

Apple declined to comment but on Thursday unveiled a new section of its website explaining the benefits of its approach, saying it had blocked 150,000 apps last year for privacy violations.

It said App Store charges fund the creation of developer resources such as 160,000 technical documents and sample code to help developers build apps.

Mike Sax, founder of The App Association, a group sponsored by Apple, said in statement that the new coalition's "big brands do not speak for the thousands of app makers" that are the foundation of the app economy.