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A group of iPhone owners accuse Apple of violating US antitrust laws that can sue companies, the Supreme Court said Monday. They claim that the Apple App Store is a monopoly.
"That's why we have antitrust laws," Kavanaugh wrote. Four liberal judges joined Kavanaugh in a 5-4 decision.
The opinion of the Supreme Court, in particular, does not accuse Apple of violating antitrust laws: it says that consumers have the right to sue companies for monopolistic behavior because they buy applications directly from Apple.
This decision can have far-reaching consequences for other technology companies that operate online stores in stores, "said Gene Kimmelman, President of the Consumer Defense Group and former Defense Defense Officer Justice Department.
"This certainly makes technology companies wonder how antitrust laws will be applied in the future in the online platform environment," Kimmelman said.
This case arose from a class action lawsuit filed in 2011 by iPhone owners claiming that by gaining 30% of app sales, Apple has encouraged application developers to increase their prices in response. Consumers have been harmed by this practice, according to this statement, because Apple does not allow them to download applications from sources other than the iTunes application store. Unlike Android, iOS customers can only get applications from official sources, which, according to Apple, serve as a type of quality control to get rid of security threats and applications that do not meet security requirements. Company services.
Apple (AAPL) believes that iPhone owners do not have the right to sue because Apple is an intermediary. But the Supreme Court said that iPhone owners had a "direct buyer" relationship with Apple and could sue under the old Illinois Brick.
If justice allows Apple to set conditions for legal battles, the court will say it will prevent consumers from seeking help from suspected monopolists.
"The Apple line image does not make sense, if not the way to separate Apple from similar demands and demands," the opinion said.
Apple said he was sure that in the end he would win in this case, now he could continue.
"The App Store is any size monopoly," the company said in a statement. "Developers set the price they want to charge for their application and Apple doesn't play a role."
The company also noted that developers can make applications for other platforms, including smart TVs, competing operating systems, and video game consoles. However, customers who keep records of their iTunes app store account are still the only place where Apple customers can get software for their iPhone and iPad.
