Apple faces another legal challenge from its customers over its App Store policies, which allegedly result in higher prices and less choice for iPhone users. A federal judge has ruled that the class action lawsuit, which claims that Apple has a monopoly over the app market, can move forward.
Reuters reports that US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers had previously rejected the certification of the class action in March 2022, but changed her mind after the plaintiffs narrowed down the scope of the lawsuit. The class now consists of only those Apple account holders who paid $10 or more for apps or in-app purchases.
The judge acknowledged that the class may still include more than 10 million accounts that did not suffer any harm, which is 7.9% of the total, but said that this number could be lowered. She also said that there was no clear “cutoff” point for denying certification.
Apple‘s attempt to exclude the testimony of two expert witnesses, one of them being Nobel laureate economist Daniel McFadden, was also dismissed by the judge. These experts are expected to provide evidence on how Apple’s practices may have harmed consumers.
The lawyer for the consumers, Mark Rifkin, said that he was “extremely pleased” with the judge’s decision and that he was ready for the next stage of the 12-year-old antitrust case. He estimated that the class suffered “billions of dollars in damages.”
This is not the first time that Judge Rogers has dealt with Apple’s App Store rules. She was also the presiding judge in the Epic Games vs. Apple case, where she ordered Apple to allow developers to direct users to alternative payment methods for in-app content in September 2021. However, she did not force Apple to let users download apps outside the App Store.
Her ruling was mostly upheld by a federal appeals court in April 2023, and the US Supreme Court declined to intervene last month. This led to Apple finally implementing the changes that allow app developers to include links and buttons to other payment options for in-app content.
However, Apple’s App Store policies are still under scrutiny in other parts of the world. For example, the EU Digital Markets Act, which was passed in December 2023, requires Apple to allow third-party app stores and third-party payment processing within the European Union. Apple has until June 2024 to comply with the new regulations or face hefty fines.