Chinese Top Court OKs “Apple Tax” Antitrust Case To Proceed

A Chinese consumer has been given the go-ahead to take an “Apple tax” antitrust case to court, as China’s Supreme Court rejected Apple’s call for the lawsuit to be thrown out.

A local report stated that this is a small legal loss, but could have big implications for the Cupertino company.

South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that China’s Supreme Court has made a civil ruling in favor of a consumer versus the China subsidiary of Apple, in a legal development lawyers say could open the gates for more consumers in the country to file similar complaints against the iPhone maker in local courts.

The case involves Jin Xin, who is demanding Apple stop charging 30% commission on purchases in the China App Store, and to allow Chinese consumers to make payments through wallets other than Apple Pay, to provide 100,000 yuan (US$15,500) in compensation and to issue a public apology.

In his lawsuit Jin alleges that the prices of in-app services offered by apps in Apple’s App Store, including video app iQiyi, podcast app Himalaya, and music app NetEase Music, are higher than in Android app stores – possibly as a result of Apple’s 30%t App store commission. Jin also cites China’s Anti-Monopoly Law in accusing Apple of “anticompetitive” practices.

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