(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. was targeted by a Dutch class action lawsuit claiming multibillion-euro damages as the iphone maker’s legal battles over apps and in-app purchases continue to mount.
Apple “has taken advantage of its monopoly position” with its 30% fee for every sale from app developers, forcing them to increase their prices, the Consumer Competition Claims Foundation said in a press release on Tuesday.
The foundation claims the potential harm could add up to nearly 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion). Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. tech giant has been in the crosshairs of regulators and across the world including the European Union over the power it wields over over app sales and payments. Apple faced a similar lawsuit in London last year over claims it overcharged nearly 20 million U.K. customers for App Store purchases. Meanwhile in the U.S., Apple is still fighting Epic Games Inc., the maker of Fortnite, over its claims that Apple’s app distribution marketplace is a monopoly.
Apple Urges Court to Quell Epic’s ‘Unfounded’ Antitrust Claims
The Dutch case comes on the heels of the nation’s antitrust authority fining Apple 50 million euros for rule-breaking in a dispute over payment systems for dating applications. The Authority for Consumers & Markets said on Monday that it is reviewing Cupertino, California-based Apple’s new proposal to fully comply with an order to offer payments outside the app store to dating app providers.
The Dutch foundation called on all EU consumers who have bought an app in the App Store or made an Apple in-app purchase since Sept. 2009 to join its class action to be filed in in the Amsterdam District Court. It has enlisted the legal services of international law firm Scott + Scott to handle the claim.
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