A US federal judge has given a greenlight to tens of millions of Apple customers to proceed with a class-action lawsuit against the iPhone maker's alleged monopolisation of the app market, according to Reuters.
The monopoly spells a prohibition on purchases from sources outside the App Store, resulting in elevated prices.
In March 2022, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers initially declined to certify a class action. However, she reconsidered her decision after the class was refined to specifically include Apple account holders who had expended $10 or more on either apps or in-app content.
Rogers has presided over the antitrust case brought by Epic Games, the creator of the video game "Fortnite," against Apple.
In September 2021, she mandated Apple to ease restrictions on payment options for developers seeking payment from customers for their apps. However, she stopped short of compelling Apple to permit iPhone downloads from sources outside its App Store.
The California judge also dismissed Apple's attempt to exclude testimony from two expert witnesses, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel McFadden, whose deposition is crucial to prove potential harm the company may have caused to consumers.
Class actions have the potential to yield higher recoveries at a lower cost compared to individual lawsuits by plaintiffs.
In April 2023, a federal appeals court affirmed a significant portion of that ruling, and the US Supreme Court opted not to intervene last month.
Mark Rifkin, the attorney representing the consumers, expressed his satisfaction, stating that he was "extremely pleased."
Rifkin estimated that the class had suffered "billions of dollars in damages."
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