The European consumer organisation, Euroconsumer, has launched a class action against Apple for reportedly overcharging music streaming subscriptions purchased through the App Store.
The lawsuit targets Apple in Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The Belgian consumer rights organisation, Testachats, is taking part in the class action, it announced on Tuesday.
According to the consumer groups, Apple has unfairly imposed a commission of up to 30% on purchases made through the App Store for non-Apple music streaming services, such as Spotify, Deezer, or SoundCloud. This has forced streaming services to raise their monthly prices by around €3 to cover the commission fees, "unfairly burdening" users, Euroconsumer noted.
Additionally, Testachats reported that Apple has "expressly prohibited" developers of competing apps from informing consumers of cheaper music subscription packages outside the application.
"Alongside competing companies, it is consumers who have suffered direct damage as a result of these anti-competitive practices, and it is only fair that they should be reimbursed," said Testachats spokesperson, Julie Frère.
The class action aims to obtain around €62 million in compensation for the over 500,000 people affected across the four countries, dating back to 2013, according to Euroconsumer. Around 55,000 people in Belgium are said to be affected, according to Testachats.
Apple's anti-competitive practices were previously addressed by the European Commission, which issued a €1.8 million fine against the tech giant in March 2024.
"At a time when competitiveness is cited as the compass that should guide all political action, it is important to put consumers back at the centre of it," concluded Frère.
