United Kingdom: Competition Appeal Tribunal delivered judgement finding Apple imposed exclusionary practices in App Store

On 23 October 2025, the Competition Appeal Tribunal delivered a ruling in the collective proceedings case of Kent v Apple under the Competition Act 1998. The Tribunal found that Apple holds a near-absolute monopoly in both iOS app distribution and iOS in-app payment services. It also found that Apple had imposed exclusionary practices in both markets, including exclusive dealing and tying in the markets of iOS app distribution and iOS in-app payments. Apple's requirement that apps be distributed only through its App Store was ruled an illegal exclusionary practice. Similarly, forcing developers to use Apple's own payment systems was found to be an unlawful tie. Apple also charged developers a 30% commission between 1 October 2015 and 15 November 2024, which was judged to be an excessive and unfair price. Apple's justifications, such as user security and privacy, were rejected as neither necessary nor proportionate. The court set the competitive commission rate for distribution at 17.5% and for payments at 10%. Kent's class was awarded damages for these overcharges, with half the cost deemed to have been passed on to consumers, plus 8% interest.