Dutch Foundation Seeks Class Action Suit Against Apple on Behalf of App Store Customers

30 MARCH 2022 - News of a new suit against Apple in the Netherlands. Bloomberg says Holland’s Consumer Competition Claims Foundation is suing Apple for as much as 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) on behalf of App Store consumers. The piece cites a statement wherein the group argues that Apple’s 30% App Store commission has forced developers to charge more for their apps than they otherwise would, which has forced consumers to spend more than they otherwise would to the tune of - who knows? - maybe as much as 5 billion euros.

I saw an article or two indicate that this was the latest sign of moves against Apple by Dutch authorities, though it’s worth noting - these are not Dutch authorities. The website for the Consumer Competition Claims Foundation says that “the foundation is independent” and that it “operates on a non-profit basis.” Bloomberg says:

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.

In other words, a statement from a group almost no one has heard of gets picked up by Bloomberg for clicks. Because it’s Bloomberg, it gets picked up everywhere else, and which developer is going to say, “we would have charged 70-cents for our app, but Apple’s 30% commission pushed us to 99-cents instead?” 

Life is a tale, told by a busybody…