Apple, Google accused of violating Portugal’s competition law

Another day, another lawsuit. “Collective competition” claims against Apple and Google have been filed with the Portuguese Competition Court with a view to recovering compensation of up to €198 million total on behalf of 6.5 million Portuguese consumers and businesses who made purchases of apps or digital content, services and subscriptions within apps on both Apple’s iOS and Google Android devices.

The claims have been filed by Fabrizio Esposito, a law professor, represented by the  Hausfeld law firm, seeks to act as class representative on behalf of affected app purchasers in order to secure compensation for each class member.

The claims allege that Apple and Google have systematically violated  competition law by overcharging millions of Portuguese purchasers of apps and in-app content and subscriptions. The damages sought on behalf of Portuguese consumers and businesses amounts to up to € 100 million in each of the two cases.  

Esposito seeks to represent around 2.9 million Apple App Store users and 3.6 million Google Play Store users. He claims that Apple and Google’s 30% commission is “anticompetitive and excessive.”

The lawsuit further states that the tech giants wouldn’t be able to charge such an excessive fee if they didn’t impose technical and contractual restrictions on their devices which make competition by other app stores and payment services providers virtually impossible.