Proton has joined an existing class-action lawsuit against Apple to “ensure the internet of the future lives up to its potential.”
According to the class-action complaint, Proton is challenging what it calls the monopolization of the markets for iOS app distribution and payment processing.
“Apple has eliminated competition and extracted supracompetitive profits from app developers through a web of exclusionary conduct,” court papers filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California read.
In the 73-page Proton vs. Apple document, developers and accessory makers, an important part of the Apple ecosystem, are also described as posing a threat to the company’s (the Register called it the iGiant) “extraordinary profits by empowering consumers to “think different” and choose perfectly functional, less-expensive alternative smartphones.”
In the document, Proton claims that Apple’s margins on a $1,599 iPhone are more than double those of others in the market.
Proton, like many others before, is challenging Apple’s App Store policies. Developers are double-taxed as they have to pay $99 to be in the App Store and a 30% fee on payments made via iOS apps.
“Privacy-first companies that monetize through subscriptions are disproportionately hit by this fee, putting a major barrier toward the adoption of privacy-first business models,” Proton said in its blog post.
The court documents mention the case of Spotify, which started directing people to its website in an attempt to avoid Apple’s commission. Obviously, this is an inconvenience for users. Therefore, the music streaming platform has offered those users a lower subscription fee.
“If users nevertheless purchased a subscription through the iOS app instead, Spotify charged a higher fee because of Apple’s 30% tax. In response, Apple threatened to kick Spotify off the App Store if it did not use Apple’s iOS payment processing service and did not charge a uniform (higher) fee across all types of devices,” it said.
Spotify was forced to comply.
Epic Games, another company that challenged Apple over the 30% fee, had been absent from the App Store for five years. Only this May, Fortnite returned to Apple’s iOS systems following an April 30th ruling saying that Apple violated a US court order that required the company to allow greater competition for app downloads and payment methods in its App Store.
“Apple claims this fee is necessary to pay for the maintenance of the App Store, but evidence presented in the Epic Games v. Apple case indicated that Apple makes a 78% profit on App Store fees, raising the question of whether these fees are really necessary or a clear example of the company profiting from its illegal monopoly,” Proton claimed.
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