Apple is facing a regulatory complaint in China filed by a group of iPhone and iPad users over claims similar to those that have challenged its App Store practices in the US and the European Union.

Lawyer Wang Qiongfei told Reuters the complaint with China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) alleges that Apple abuses its market dominance by restricting app distribution and payments to its own platform, while charging high commissions.

The complaint by 55 users says that Apple maintains a monopoly over iOS app distribution and in-app payments in China, while allowing alternative payment methods and app stores in other markets, following regulatory pressure in the US and the EU.

Competition rules

Apple’s system allegedly violates China’s anti-monopoly law by forcing consumers to purchase goods through Apple’s own in-app purchase system; restricting iOS downloads to the App Store; and charging commissions of up to 30 percent on in-app purchases.

Wang previously filed a civil lawsuit over similar claims in 2021, which was dismissed by a Shanghai court last year.

He is appealing that case to China’s People’s Supreme Court, which heard arguments on the appeal in December, and has yet to issue a ruling, Wang said.

In a separate challenge, Beijing’s intellectual property court last November agreed to hear a complaint by a local software developer, Beijing Bodyreader Technology, whose app was removed from the App Store in 2020.

The company is seeking $420,000 (£313,000) in damages and is challenging Apple’s App Store business model in a similar way to a legal action Epic Games in the US that has had implications for the App Store in that jurisdiction.

In addition to damages, Beijing Bodyreader is seeking an apology and a declaration that Apple engages in unfair monopolistic behaviour, Bloomberg reported last year.

Transparency

The company said its app was pulled after having been available for more than a year, after which the firm said it made unsuccessful attempt to appeal Apple’s decision.

The Chinese developer then submitted the same app under a different name, and it remains available, which Bodyreader said shows Apple’s inconsistency in policing its App Store.

Regulators in the UK and the EU are seeking to force Apple to create transparent app review processes for developers, amongst other App Store changes.