Antitrust Lawsuit in China Targets Apple Policies on App Distribution and Payments

Apple is reportedly facing an antitrust lawsuit in China that centers on the company’s policies around app distribution and payments.

A lawyer representing a group of 55 Chinese iPhone and iPad users filed a complaint with the country’s State Administration for Market Regulation, Reuters reported Monday (Oct. 20).

The complaint alleges that Apple abuses its dominant position in the market by requiring that iOS apps be distributed and payments be made on its platform and by charging high commissions of as much as 30%, according to the report.

The report added that the lawyer who filed the complaint, Wang Qiongfei, filed a similar case against Apple in 2021, saw it dismissed by a court in 2024, and is now appealing that decision to China’s Supreme People’s Court.

Apple did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The company has faced antitrust lawsuits in the European Union and the United States over its policies.

Apple wrote in a Sept. 25 blog post that it wants the EU’s antitrust regulator, the European Commission, to rethink its Digital Markets Act, which was enacted a little over a year ago and is designed to combat market abuse by tech giants operating within the EU.

“Over that time, it’s become clear that the DMA is leading to a worse experience for Apple users in the EU,” the company said in its post. “It’s exposing them to new risks, and disrupting the simple, seamless way their Apple products work together. And as new technologies come out, our European users’ Apple products will only fall further behind.”

The EC fined Apple $580 million in April, saying the company had violated rules for allowing developers to direct users to purchases outside of app stores. Apple is appealing the fine.

In the U.S., Apple faces a Justice Department monopoly case in which the company is accused of unlawfully dominating the smartphone market by using restrictions on the developers of apps and devices to keep users from switching to competitors.

An Apple spokesperson said in June, when a judge denied the company’s request to throw out the lawsuit, that the company believes the suit is wrong on the facts and that it will continue to fight it in court.