The Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) released a statement Thursday supporting the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against Apple. This group includes many major app makers, including Epic Games, Spotify, Deezer, Match Group, and Proton.
“With today's announcement, the Department of Justice is committed to Apple's stranglehold on the mobile app ecosystem that stifles competition and harms American consumers and developers alike,” said CAF Executive Director Rick VanMeter. We will take a strong stance against this,” he said. “The Justice Department's complaint alleges Apple's longstanding illegal practices of abusing App Store guidelines and developer agreements to jack up prices, charge exorbitant fees, degrade the user experience, and stifle competition. “The Department of Justice joins regulators around the world who recognize and are working to address the many harms caused by Apple's misconduct.”
Some CAF member companies, including Epic and Spotify, are embroiled in high-profile legal proceedings over Apple's anti-competitive practices.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has long been vocal about his dissatisfaction with Apple's 30% cut in in-app payments, which he considers monopolistic and predatory. In 2020, Epic allowed Fortnite players to pay directly to Epic instead of giving Apple a cut. Apple then removed Epic from the App Store, resulting in numerous legal proceedings. While Epic has had some victories (developers are now allowed to direct users to alternative payment methods), none of these lawsuits prove Apple is a monopoly. It has not been.
Spotify is becoming increasingly hostile to Apple as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) comes into effect in the European Union. DMA was supposed to boost competition in the EU, but Spotify criticized Apple's DMA compliance plan (which adds additional developer fees) as a “complete and utter travesty”.
In a thread about X, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said: Said: “I was skeptical of Apple's intentions to follow through, having spent years watching Apple get away with such extreme abuse in all sorts of ways to circumvent regulations around the world. But the law is the law, right? Unless you're Apple…”
But Apple sees CAF as the bad guy. In a press conference with journalists regarding the Justice Department's antitrust case, Apple displayed a slide that cast CAF as part of a web of companies trying to destroy Apple for their own profit.
“This lawsuit threatens our company and the principles that make Apple products stand out in a fiercely competitive market,” Apple said in a statement. It would hinder our ability to develop the kind of technology we expect from Apple, and it would set a dangerous precedent that would give governments more power over how people design technology. We believe the lawsuit is wrong based on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend ourselves.”