The European Court of Justice recently issued its judgment in Case C-34/24 | Stichting. It concerned a dispute about whether Dutch courts could hear a legal action against Apple. The case focused on whether Apple’s App Store and whether Apple’s behaviour in running the App Store for the Netherlands market was anti-competitive.
Apple’s iPhones and iPads use the iOS operating system, which comes already installed on these devices. People can buy apps for these devices through the App Store, and is also pre-installed on the devices. Some apps are free, while others cost money. The prices can be different in each country. Apps are made either by Apple or by other companies. If a developer wants to sell their app on the App Store, they must sign an agreement with Apple. Apple sets the price range for the apps and takes a percentage of each sale as commission.
To use the App Store, users must create a profile. If someone’s Apple ID shows the Netherlands as their country, they are automatically directed to the Dutch version of the App Store. Users can change their country, but only if they accept new terms and have a valid payment method for the new country.
Two organisations, Stichting Right to Consumer Justice and Stichting App Stores, brought a legal action on behalf of all users (both consumers and businesses) who bought apps from the Dutch App Store. They claimed that Apple was abusing its strong position in the market for distributing apps on its devices, which has harmed users.
Apple argued that Dutch courts should not be allowed to hear the case because, in their view, the alleged harm did not happen in the Netherlands, or at least not in Amsterdam. Apple also said that Dutch courts should only be able to deal with claims from users who made purchases in Amsterdam.
The Dutch court asked the European Court of Justice for guidance on the rules about which country’s courts have the right to hear such cases. The ECJ considered EU law, which says that a case can be brought either where the defendant (in this case, Apple) is based, or where the harmful event happened. This is an exception to the usual rule.
The ECJ decided that, because the Dutch App Store is designed specifically for the Netherlands, uses the Dutch language, and offers apps for Dutch users (some of which are made just for the Dutch market), the harm from Apple’s alleged behaviour could be said to have happened in the Netherlands. This is true no matter where the users were physically located when they bought the apps.
Therefore, the ECJ ruled that Dutch courts have the power to hear the case for all users who bought digital products from the Dutch App Store. Any Dutch court with the right authority can hear such a case, not just courts in Amsterdam.
