Apple Inc. v. Pepper

The Supreme Court will hear a case on Apple’s App Store pricing and practices. The suit, Apple Inc. v. Pepper, centers on antitrust laws as they relate to third party resellers. A decision is expected by late spring.

The consumer complaint is that Apple has a monopoly on App Store apps and that its pricing model raises prices unfairly for consumers. Apple requires that app developers pay a 30% commission to Apple on whatever they sell; they are also prohibited from selling their apps in other marketplaces. There is a question whether the inflated prices come from the developers, or Apple’s commission structure.

The Trump administration along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several computer and software industry groups support Apple. On the other side are 31 states and other groups fighting antitrust practices. If Apple were to lose the case, consumers would be able to sue Apple directly.

Summarized in part from the November 26, 2018 PBS News Hour article "Supreme Court hears Apple monopoly case on App Store pricing"

Additional resources:
USA Today "Supreme Court skeptical of Apple's monopoly on app purchases through its App Store"
SCOTUSblog "Apple Inc. v. Pepper"

Supreme Court hears Apple monopoly case on App Store pricing. https://t.co/gY4PU1ywq8

— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) November 26, 2018