Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the recipient of an antitrust lawsuit in China, as a group of iPhone and iPad users have alleged the tech giant has a monopoly on app distribution and payments.
Represented by lawyer Wang Qiongfei, consumers Tian Junwei and 55 other Chinese iPhone/iPad consumers filed a complaint with the China State Administration for Market Regulation that the iPhone maker is “forcing Chinese consumers to purchase digital goods and services within iOS apps through Apple IAP (In-App Purchase, an in-app purchase system with a ‘cash register’ payment function), and prohibiting developers from guiding consumers to pay outside of Apple IAP and other limited transactions and bundling through anti-guidance clauses.”
The complaint also alleges that Apple has “limited transaction behavior that forces Chinese consumers to obtain iOS applications only through the Apple App Store” and the commissions of up to 30% on digital goods and services is “unfairly high.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has faced lawsuits in other parts of the world about its App Store commissions and policies. As such, it has opened up the App Store to third-party payment methods and other means of downloading apps in both the European Union and U.S.
Apple shares rose 1.4% in premarket trading on Monday.