Epic Games has filed a UK antitrust complaint against Apple, regardless of having lost a court case within the nation over the identical subject.
Using the sort of hyperbolic language we’ve now come to anticipate, Epic’s complaint accuses Apple of ‘kneecapping the competition’ and ‘exerting monopoly power’ …
Background
We previously outlined the background to the case.
Back in August of final 12 months, Epic Games installed its own in-app purchase system which bypassed the App Store, that means Apple didn’t obtain its 30% reduce. Unsurprisingly, Apple removed the app from its store and later terminated the game-maker’s developer account.
Epic took Apple to court, demanding that Fortnite be restored to the App Store, and Apple countersued for breach of contract. The case is expected to be heard in May, when Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify, alongside different senior firm executives.
Meantime, Epic has been attempting its luck in different nations. The developer tried and failed to sue in the UK, earlier than submitting antitrust complaints in Australia and the European Union.
Despite being instructed that it had no proper to sue Apple within the UK, the corporate is now attempting its luck with an antitrust complaint to competitors watchdogs.
UK antitrust complaint
The firm made the announcement on its web site.
Epic Games right now introduced the corporate has filed a complaint to the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in assist of its investigation into Apple’s anticompetitive conduct. This is a vital step in Epic’s continued international struggle for fairer digital platforms.
The complaint alleges that Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and prohibitively restrictive guidelines governing the distribution of apps and cost processing represent a transparent violation of the UK Competition Act of 1998. It additionally illustrates Apple’s monopolistic practices, which forbid customers and builders respectively from buying or distributing apps by way of marketplaces apart from Apple’s App Store, whereas concurrently forcing any in-app buy to be processed by way of Apple’s personal cost system.
“By kneecapping the competition and exerting its monopoly power over app distribution and payments, Apple strips UK consumers of the right to choose how and where they get their apps, while locking developers into a single marketplace that lets Apple charge any commission rate they choose,” stated Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. “These harmful practices lead to artificially inflated costs for consumers, and stifle innovation among developers, many of whom are unable to compete in a digital ecosystem that is rigged against them.”
Apple attacked a similar complaint in Australia, describing Epic’s actions as ‘self-serving.’
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