British tribunal claim aims to take a bite out of Apple over App Store fees

Seven weeks of court action began this week as a case over alleged breaches of competition law by Apple is heard at the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

The case finally kicked off on January 13 and is expected to last until February 27. At its core is a claim that Apple's 30 percent commission breaches UK and EU competition law and that the tech biz is abusing its dominant position to the detriment of consumers.

The claim was brought by Dr Rachel Kent and aims to pry more than £1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) from Apple. It has been filed on behalf of almost 20 million UK iPhone and iPad users and was proposed in 2021. In 2022, it was agreed that a Collective Proceedings Order (CPO) – similar to the US class-action lawsuit – could go ahead.

Almost three years later, and after more legal back-and-forth, the showdown has begun.

Apple has attempted to change its ways in some parts of the world in the years since the claim was first proposed. Under pressure from European lawmakers, the company trimmed some fees and made changes in response to Europe's Digital Markets Act (DMA). It is also facing antitrust scrutiny in the US over its practices, and there are numerous developers ready to level criticism over the operation of its App Store. Last year, Apple approved the Epic Games Store, which sidesteps the company's App Store, on iOS in the European Union.

A spokesperson for Hausfeld, the law firm working on the claim, dismissed Apple's tentative moves to open up its app store. The spokesperson told The Register:

"Even if Apple were to fundamentally change the way in which its App Store operates in the UK, this would not compensate consumers for the losses they have suffered as a direct result of Apple's exclusion of competition since the App Store was incepted in 2008.

"Whether future changes will fully address all of the issues in Dr Kent's claim depends very much on what changes Apple implements."

The spokesperson also said it remained unclear how long Apple would take to implement changes that, at least from the perspective of the claim, would no longer "harm" consumers.

• EU irate about geo-locked Apple IDs
• Europe to force Apple to help rivals connect to iOS, iPadOS
• Game not over: Epic brings Fortnite back to iOS in Europe, using its own app store
• Apple is coming to take 30% cut of new Patreon subs on iOS

Amid these developments, the CPO proceedings have continued.

The Register asked Apple to comment on the case and allegations, but it has not yet responded.

The collective action is opt-out, meaning that the action is brought on users' behalf unless a potential claimant actively decides not to participate. Should it be successful, the claimants would be entitled to a share of the compensation.

In late 2025, a nearly identical claim by Liz Coll against Google is set to follow over the company's Play Store fees. However, as with Apple, Google's 30 percent fee is not always charged. For example, the first million dollars in revenue attracts a discounted 15 percent fee.

The spokesperson for Hausfeld said of the Apple case: "The discounted fees only apply to a minority of transactions and most have only been incepted in recent years. Consequently, the vast majority of transactions which are the subject of Dr Kent's claims attract a commission of 30 percent.

"Even where the commission charged is 15 percent, Dr Kent's case is that this is not the level of commission which would be chargeable on those transactions if there was any form of competition to Apple."

The App Store has certainly made plenty of cash for Apple over the years, and it will be up to the Tribunal to decide if the level of the fees can be justified. However, the company is far from the only tech giant to collect commission from its store.

"The fees charged by Google and Microsoft are the subject of regulatory investigations and similar damages claims globally (in the UK, Ms Coll's claim in respect of the commission charged by Google in its Play Store [is] listed to take place from October 2025)." ®