On October 20, according to Reuters, an attorney stated,Fifty-five Chinese iPhone and iPad users filed a complaint with China's State Administration for Market Regulation on Monday, accusing Apple of abusing its market dominance by restricting app distribution and payments to its own platform and charging high commissions.
The lawyer representing this complaint is Wang Qiongfei. This is the second time he has faced Apple, but this time it is a complaint. Last year, the Shanghai court dismissed an antitrust case filed by Wang Qiongfei against Apple in 2021. Wang Qiongfei said he expected the administrative complaint to be handled by regulatory agencies faster than the previous civil lawsuit. He is currently appealing the decision in that lawsuit to China's Supreme People's Court.
The complainant pointed out that Apple maintains its monopoly on iOS app distribution in the Chinese market, but has opened alternative payment methods and third-party app stores in overseas markets such as the European Union and the United States due to regulatory pressure. The complaint documents accuse Apple of three main violations of China’s antitrust laws: forcing consumers to purchase digital products only through Apple’s in-app purchase system, restricting app download channels to the official App Store, and charging commissions of up to 30% on in-app purchases.
As of press time, Apple has not commented on this.