• Home
  • Apps
  • Apps News
  • Apple to Face Hearing on App Store Developer Contracts Case on September 17 in France

Apple to Face Hearing on App Store Developer Contracts Case on September 17 in France

The case is unlikely to lead to a significant fine if Apple is found guilty.

Apple to Face Hearing on App Store Developer Contracts Case on September 17 in France

The case echoes a complaint by Epic Games which is engaged in multiple lawsuits against Apple

Highlights
  • In France, the law allows the finance minister to sue companies
  • France's leading startup lobby France Digitale has joined the case
  • Further hearings could follow and no date has been yet set for decision
Advertisement

A French court has set September 17 as the date for hearing a case brought by the finance ministry against Apple over allegedly abusive contractual terms imposed by the tech giant for selling software on its App Store.

The case, judged by Paris' commercial court, is unlikely to lead to a significant fine if Apple is found guilty, based on previous similar cases. But the court could compel the iPhone maker to change some of its App Store contractual terms.

A spokesperson for Apple declined to comment.

The case echoes a complaint by Fortnite creator Epic Games, which is engaged in multiple lawsuits across the world against Apple since a dispute over app payment commissions surfaced last year.

The ministry's lawsuit comes after a three-year probe by the DGCCRF consumer fraud watchdog, which comes under the remit of Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who ordered the investigation.

In France, the law allows the finance minister to sue companies when abusive business practices are found in contracts.

France's leading startup lobby France Digitale has joined the case, according to a court document seen by Reuters.

"We're going to find ourselves in a 'heads you lose, tails I win' situation," said Nicolas Brien, the head of the European startup network and chief executive of France Digitale.

"Either the commercial court condemns Apple, and it will be unprecedented ... or Apple gets away with it, and it will be proof that current laws don't allow the regulation of a systemic platform like Apple."

Further hearings could follow and no date has been yet set for the court's decision.

© Thomson Reuters 2021
 


What were the best games at E3 2021? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Apple, App Store
Big Tech Regulation: US Lawmakers in Marathon Debate Over Bills, Reform of Antitrust Laws
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »