Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple Is Going to the Supreme Court

The latest tech industry legal kerfuffle heading towards the Supreme Court is the antitrust lawsuit that is being leveled against Apple. The complaints basically involve the company’s supposed anti-competitive practices with regards to its App Store. Specifically, it has to do with the commission that Apple is getting from every purchase of the apps on the store.

The highest court in the land reportedly agreed to take on the case on Monday at Apple’s request, Reuters reports, in an effort to overturn the ruling made by a lower court. It would seem that the Trump administration supported the Cupertino firm and encouraged the Supreme Court to accept the case.

Depending on the outcome of this case, other tech giants could become open to similar class-action lawsuits in the future. E-commerce is still relatively young despite the fact that it’s rapidly expanding. Now, consumers and developers are looking at antitrust damages to throw against companies currently monopolizing the market.

Among the firms that will likely take a hit if Apple loses this case are Amazon and eBay. Of course, this is all just conjunction at this point. Such scenarios are basically only predicated on the possibility that a loss by the iPhone maker could set a precedent. Even so, Apple is still worried about the implications of this lawsuit, especially its effects on companies involved in e-commerce.

"This is a critical question for antitrust law in the era of electronic commerce," the company argued.

According to Bloomberg, the case will span nine months of hearings, which will start in October. The main agenda would be to decide if the decision made by a federal appeals court to let the lawsuit go forward should remain. If it does and Apple loses, the firm could be looking at several hundred millions of damages. Not to mention the far-reaching impact it would have on the tech industry.