China: Apple faces legal complaints over store rules

Apple is likely to face a messy fight in China, as dozens of Chinese app developers and lawyers are poised to file formal complaints with relevant government agencies to challenge what they have said are illegal actions of the company’s App Store against Chinese companies.

In a meeting on Monday, some domestic app developers and lawyers alleged that Apple’s App Store has engaged in potentially illegal activities in its operation, including copyright infringement and monopolistic behavior, the Financial Times reported.

The developers and lawyers said they would formally file complaints on Monday with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission, which enforce antitrust laws in the country, the report said.

The developers and lawyers claimed that Apple’s App Store unilaterally removed apps developed by Chinese developers without providing a reasonable explanation and discriminated against Chinese developers by giving different treatment to complaints from Chinese developers and those from foreign developers. They claimed that Apple had also failed to provide Chinese translations of some rules.

Full Content: Financial Times

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