Apple sued for blocking crypto technology for P2P payments
Frustrated consumers have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple after the tech giant limited peer-to-peer payment options on its devices and banned crypto technology from iOS payments.
The complaint, filed Nov. 17 in a California district court, alleges that Apple entered into anti-competitive agreements with PayPal's Venmo and Block's Cash app to limit the use of decentralized cryptocurrency technology in payment applications, causing users to pay “rapid inflation.”
“These agreements limit feature competition — and the price competition that flows from it — by preventing decentralized cryptocurrency technology from being incorporated into existing or new iOS Peer-to-Peer Payment applications,” the filing says.
The plaintiffs also claim that Apple exercises “unfettered control over every app installed and running on iPhones and iPads,” including hardware-based app store exclusivity and “contractual restrictions on web browser technology.”
With these restrictions, Apple can — and does — force iOS P2P payment apps to market with crypto “as a condition of entry,” the suit says.
The plaintiffs allege that they are customers who have been overcharged by Apple's restrictions on the iOS P2P payment market.
Due to Apple's proposed anti-competitive behavior and injunctive relief, the company is seeking to obtain overpayments and overpayments, as it prevents the company from maintaining anti-competitive agreements that restrict competitors and subscribers of the iOS P2P payment market.
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The 58-page class action details the history and development of peer-to-peer payment applications and decentralized cryptocurrencies, and Apple's entry into this market.
In April, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Apple violated California's competition laws by not allowing users to direct payment solutions unrelated to Apple.
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