Apple Now Faces App Store Challenges in China, Too

[MacRumors]

A law firm in China has filed a new antitrust complaint accusing Apple of abusing its control over iOS app distribution and payments, escalating a dispute that previously failed in civil court by seeking action from state regulators instead, Reuters reports.

The new complaint was submitted to the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on behalf of 55 Chinese iPhone and iPad users. The filing alleges that Apple maintains a monopoly over iOS app distribution in China via the App Store, restricts the use of third-party payment systems in apps, and charges commissions of up to 30% on digital transactions. Those claims mirror an earlier case brought in 2021 by individual plaintiff Jin Xin, represented by the same attorney, Wang Qiongfei. That lawsuit was dismissed in 2024 by a Shanghai court after demanding that Apple completely cease collecting its App Store fee and pay damages.

Wang has now re-opened the case more broadly via a different channel, telling the media that the new administrative complaint is intended to prompt regulatory enforcement rather than a civil judgment. Unlike the 2021 filing, this complaint incorporates a comparative argument based on changes made in other jurisdictions. The filing asserts that Apple is continuing to operate a closed App Store in China while permitting alternative payment methods and sideloading in the European Union following enforcement of the Digital Markets Act and a U.S. court ruling that obliges Apple to allow outside payment links.

Wang expects the regulatory complaint to proceed faster than the previous civil action. He is also appealing the 2024 dismissal to China's Supreme People's Court, which heard arguments in December. No ruling has yet been issued in that appeal.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Now Faces App Store Challenges in China, Too

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

china just wants a free ride

 

[HouseLannister]

A complaint from 55 users? We call that Monday in the US.

 

[mihighil]

Apple should just move out of china…oh wait…

 

[Sydnxt]

Can’t wait for this one 🍿

 

[johnsc3]

A complaint from 55 users? We call that Monday in the US.

Yeah- Monday, while on a 15 minute break-lol

 

[nt5672]

Can't wait for a few more countries to end Apple's monopoly on the App Store. There is not a monopoly in the macOS App Store and there is no need for one in the iPhone App Store.

 

[djphat2000]

Damages to who? The 55 users? And since when does China have to follow the rules of the EU? What case are they trying to make? 😂

 

[SilmarilFinder]

WeChat reacted to your post in the thread antitrust complaint with ❤️Love.

 

[Hajj.david]

Apple did this to themselves when they decided to charge 30% and 100% lock out any alternative. Even leaked emails showed hey we should cut this since its egregious and it will get governments to come after us. My app for example can't even use in-app purchases due to how licensing works (its per facility not per user, whereas IAP are per user), yet for almost a decade Apple forced me to not offer ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM to allow users to pay within the app or even change their license within the app. Even a link to our website used to be a violation of the rules. So we had to force our customers to call or email us in order to handle any of that.

Even Apple (because they made our app a "reader app") forced me so I could not allow new signups within the app. They deserve 100% of the crap coming to them because of their asinine rules.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Apple did this to themselves when they decided to charge 30% and 100% lock out any alternative. Even leaked emails showed hey we should cut this since its egregious and it will get governments to come after us. My app for example can't even use in-app purchases due to how licensing works (its per facility not per user, whereas IAP are per user), yet for almost a decade Apple forced me to not offer ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM to allow users to pay within the app or even change their license within the app. Even a link to our website used to be a violation of the rules. So we had to force our customers to call or email us in order to handle any of that.

Even Apple (because they made our app a "reader app") forced me so I could not allow new signups within the app. They deserve 100% of the crap coming to them because of their asinine rules.

This! 👆

It's great to see the tides changing

 

[JoshCalvetti]

 

[UliBaer]

Desperately waiting for the "It's all the EU's fault!" postings... 🤣

/s

 

[ProbablyDylan]

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

Anyone know if Xi has a weird thing for gold like the other guy? Wonder how Tim might try to schmooze his way out of this one.

 

[platinumaqua]

Waiting for Apple to whine about how the government is wrong...NOT.

They'll probably comply without much public fight.

 

[Shirasaki]

Oh here we go again, and in China. Tim Cook definitely would not be able to walk away on this one and they can’t refuse any demand realistically or their revenue would plunge for 20%, which would crash Apple stock price immediately.
Apple will need China for quite a while. But given how vague Chinese legal system works, I’m still not sure if Apple would be actually forced to implement similar changes they did to EU.

 

[Shirasaki]

Waiting for Apple to whine about how the government is wrong...NOT.

They'll probably comply without much public fight.

And given their EU experience, Apple probably could get this done rather quickly. Coupled with that infamous firewall, Apple can really do lots of magic for Chinese iPhone users while having peace of mind knowing whatever’s happening inside China can’t go out. They might software limit how Chinese iPhone connects to foreign cellular services.

 

[I7guy]

So they lost the first time and now are trying to get the government to make changes?

 

[turbineseaplane]

"Nice iPhone Air sales in China you have there ... be a shame if something happened to that!"

 

[turbineseaplane]

So they lost the first time and now are trying to get the government to make changes?

Sounds EXACTLY like Apple with the Masimo patents in the US.

 

[I7guy]

Sounds EXACTLY like Apple with the Masimo patents in the US.

No it doesn’t sound even remotely similar.

 

[MilaM]

A wild guess, but maybe the Chinese government is trying to gain more leverage in the US-China trade dispute?

 

[platinumaqua]

"Nice iPhone Air sales in China you have there ... be a shame if something happened to that!"

(China: proceeds to make a proposal to ban eSIMs again, rendering iPhone air useless)

 

[Starfia]

The filing alleges that Apple maintains a monopoly over iOS app distribution in China via the App Store

("The filing alleges that Bill's Flower Gardens maintains a monopoly over flower distribution via his flower shop")

 

[delsoul]

China/CCP moaning about something…again. Why am I not surprised. Someone should sue the CCP having a monopoly over not allowing applications with free, open access.