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US: SCOTUS allows antitrust suit against Apple to proceed

By  |  May 13, 2019

The Supreme Court on Monday, May 13, ruled 5-4 against Apple, saying iPhone users can pursue their antitrust lawsuit involving the tech giant’s signature electronic marketplace, the App Store

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion, which was joined by the court’s liberal justices.

The iPhone users argued that Apple’s 30% commission on sales through the App Store is an unfair use of monopoly power that results in inflated prices passed on to consumers.

Apple argued that only app developers, and not users, should be able to bring such a lawsuit. But the Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Kavanaugh, rejected that claim.

“Apple’s line-drawing does not make a lot of sense, other than as a way to gerrymander Apple out of this and similar lawsuits,” Kavanaugh wrote.

The result of the iPhone users’ litigation could affect the way that Apple, as well as other companies that operate electronic marketplaces like Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet’s Google, structure their businesses. For Apple, hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties could hang on the outcome.

Read the full opinion below:

Apple Supreme Court ruling by on Scribd