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Apple Takes £1.5 Billion App Store Case to UK Court of Appeal

The appeal asks judges to revisit how UK courts calculate consumer harm from app‑store fees.

Overview

  • Apple applied to the Court of Appeal after the Competition Appeal Tribunal refused permission to appeal in November.
  • The tribunal ruled in October that Apple abused a dominant position between 2015 and 2024, estimating consumer harm at about £1.5 billion.
  • The lawsuit is an opt‑out collective action covering roughly 36 million UK consumers who made App Store purchases since 2015.
  • Judges said fairer commission rates would have been around 17.5% for app sales and 10% for in‑app purchases, describing the figures as informed guesswork.
  • Apple disputes the methodology and characterization of the market, noting most developers now pay 15% and emphasizing security and market access, and no hearing date has been set for the appeal.