Mon. Dec 2nd, 2024

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Apple is facing a class action lawsuit filed by Venmo and Cash App customers, alleging that the company has abused its market power to limit competition in the mobile peer-to-peer payments space.
The lawsuit was filed last week in San Jose, California, federal court by four consumers from New York, Hawaii, South Carolina, and Georgia. The plaintiffs are accusing Apple of violating US antitrust law through its agreements with PayPal‘s Venmo and Square‘s Cash App.The lawsuit claims that Apple’s actions have caused consumers to pay rapidly inflating prices.
The plaintiffs claim that Apple violated the US antitrust law through its agreements with PayPal’s Venmo and Block’s Cash App. According to the lawsuit, Apple’s agreements restrict “feature competition” within peer-to-peer payment apps. The company prohibits existing or new platforms from using “decentralised cryptocurrency technology,” further limiting competition.
Peer-to-peer payments enable a user to send funds directly to another user’s account via a mobile device. The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit claim that Apple, Venmo, and Cash App have repeatedly increased prices for transactions and services without any competitive limitations.
They suggest that a peer-to-peer app built on “decentralised” crypto technology would allow iPhone users to send payments to each other without the involvement of any intermediaries.
The lawsuit also claims that Apple has excluded at least two Bitcoin wallet apps, Zeus and Damus, backed by Block founder Jack Dorsey, from its App Store. The plaintiffs aim to force Apple to permit the usage of crypto wallets that it has barred.
It also seeks to obtain a court order demanding that Apple separate or dispose of its Apple Cash business to avoid causing further harm to consumers, including the plaintiffs, in the iOS Peer-to-Peer Payment Market.
This case adds to the string of recent antitrust challenges faced by Apple. In September, a judge in California ruled that Apple could face a lawsuit from payment card issuers over alleged anticompetitive practices concerning its Apple Pay mobile wallet.



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