The French commercial court in Paris has just fined Apple one million dollars for abusive practices on the App Store, reports Reuters. Apple has imposed unfair commercial terms on French application developers for access to the App Store, according to the judgment.
While Apple is already at risk of a fine because of accusations of planned obsolescence in France, Apple has again found itself facing justice, this time with the Paris Commercial Court, which failed to pay a fine on Monday. a little over a million euros. In question, Apple allows abusive commercial practices on its App Store, such as exploiting French-language app developers.
This decision is the result of a multi-year investigation headed by the Directorate General for Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF), under the supervision of the French Ministry of Finance. Bruno Le Maire defended the rights of developers and considered that the application stores of Apple and Google take advantage of software developers.
Apple won’t be forced to change policy after judgment
The fine imposed on Apple is tiny compared to the company’s revenue, but it could lead to requests to change the App Store rules. In the meantime, we remind you that the App Store has recently completely revised its pricing policy, notably changing the price of applications.
According to the judgment, Apple will not be required to make changes to its App Store, not because it is not necessary, but because the desired changes should already happen in a short time. It is because of the future law on digital markets of the European Union, which required changes in all cases. This law will, for example, allow iPhone users to download applications from alternative stores.
Apple told the report that it will appeal the decision and that the App Store ” helped French developers of all sizes to share their passion and creativity with users around the world “. The company also claims that the App Store is a place ” safe and trustworthy ” for the customers.