Australia: Apple and Google condemned for competitive violations

Even though Apple was repeatedly irritated by the procedure of Europe in the regulation of tech companies, the iPhone manufacturer also sees interference in its business policy in other parts of the earth. In Australia, a court of Apple and its competitor Google have now condemned Google for market abuse. Laughing third party is the game manufacturer Epic Games. Tim Sweeney’s company announced that it will start in Australia with its alternative app store. This was shared by the company on x with. So far, this store has only existed in the area of the European Union.

The decision of a Federal Court could have even more sensitive effects for the editors of the smartphone operating systems iOS and Android. Millions of consumers and developers can now demand compensation in the amount of several hundred million dollars. In his judgment, judge Jonathan Beach found that both tech companies violated Section 46 of the Australian Competition and Consumer Act by abusing their market power to restrict the competition. The decision paves the way for collecting lawsuits that represent 15 million consumers and 150,000 app developers.

Legal dispute began in 2020

The lawsuits, led by the law firm Phi Finney McDonald and Maurice Blackburn and the Fortnite developer Epic Games, accused Apple and Google to operate illegal monopolies in app sales. Due to the ban or the strong disability of alternative stores and websites, developers would have forced to use their payment platforms that retained between 15 and 30 percent of the sales revenue as fees. The legal dispute began in 2020 when Fortnite was removed from the Google and Apple app after Epic Games introduced its own in-app payment system to avoid the commissions of the tech giants.

While Apple operates its app store system as a closed ecosystem, Google is pursuing a more open approach with Android. Theoretically, users can use several app stores and download apps directly from websites. Nevertheless, the court found that Google acted similarly to competition through restrictive contracts and control over the Android ecosystem.

Security does not invalidate the competitive disadvantages

Richter Beach also rejected Apple’s argument that the restrictions in iOS only served security concerns: “The fact that Apple introduced this central app sales system to protect security does not mean that there is also no significant purpose of competitive purpose”, “, the Australian television station ABC quoted him.

A representative of the plaintiff estimates the possible compensation payments to “probably hundreds of million dollars”. The exact sum is determined in a separate hearing. Consumer advocates and lawyers expect the judgment to have a significant impact on the operation of digital platforms in Australia, with possible consequences such as lower prices, increased competition and more innovation. In addition, a stronger regulation of the tech companies has been discussed in Australia for a long time.

Apple said in a statement to the Australian ABC that the company welcomes the rejection of some Epic allegations by the Australian court. However, Apple does not agree to other claims with the decision of the court.