Apple faces class-action lawsuit for violating App Store injunction

The hits keep coming for Apple and its App Store policies. A new class-action lawsuit filed today alleges that Apple “penalized developers who sought to use linked payments with fees that rendered it economically non-viable.

The lawsuit follows an injunction handed down last week, in which Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers barred Apple from charging commission or otherwise interfering with developers’ ability to direct customers to payment methods outside of the App Store.

In a press release announcing the lawsuit, law firm Hagens Berman says:

The lawsuit’s named plaintiff is Pure Sweat Basketball Inc., a corporation offering an app used by players across the country to train and improve their basketball skills. Had Apple complied with the injunction, as required, Pure Sweat would have been able to sell subscriptions to its app directly to its customers, using “link-out” buttons directing customers to Pure Sweat’s own website.

As a result of Apple’s misconduct, attorneys estimate that potentially more than 100,000 similarly situated app developers were prevented from selling in-app products (including subscriptions) directly to their customers, and were forced to pay Apple commissions on in-app sales that Apple was not entitled to receive.

It continues:

“Apple’s scheme worked as planned,” the lawsuit states. “Although the injunction has been in ‘effect’ for over 15 months, Apple has been able to identify only 34 developers who have even applied to offer linked-out payments through their apps. This represents an infinitesimal 0.025% of the 136,000 developers who offer apps through the App Store.”

The lawsuit comes from a common foe of Apple in the courtroom. Hagens Berman spearheaded a prior class-action lawsuit around the company’s anticompetitive App Store practices. That lawsuit was brought against Apple by small developers and led to Apple making several App Store changes and establishing a Small Developer Assistance Fund as part of a $100 million settlement. Hagens Berman also led the $560 million class-action Apple Books price-fixing lawsuit.

You can learn more on the Hagens Berman website. The full initial filing is also embedded below.

“Any iOS app developers who sold an in-app digital product (including subscriptions) through Apple’s App Store after Jan. 16, 2024, may have rights to reimbursement for Apple’s alleged failure to abide by the injunction,” Hagens Berman says.

For its part, Apple has said it disagrees with last week’s ruling and has already filed an appeal. In the meantime, the company is complying with the injunction and has updated its App Store Guidelines to acknowledge the changes.