The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 against an anticompetitive hearing against the App Store. This move means that iPhone users can go ahead with their lawsuit against Apple over the App Store.

Apple has a monopoly over the App Store through which millions of people download apps and games on their iPhone or iPad. While Apple allows third-party developers to upload and sell their apps through the App Store, these apps must adhere to Apple’s own guidelines which the company can change or tweak to its benefit any time. The company has in the past tweaked or changed App Store rules to remove third-party apps which competed with some features in iOS.

Apple also requires that all iOS apps be sold through the App Store thereby thwarting the development of other App Stores.

The lawsuit was initially filed against Apple in 2011 but it was dismissed by the California district court in 2013. The U.S. Court of Appeals received the case in 2017 which led Apple to appeal to the Supreme Court to throw the case out. However, both parties gave their arguments last fall where Apple lawyers failed to give any convincing reply as to why the company did not allow third-party app stores.

With the decision going against Apple, the lawsuit against the company can go ahead. If Apple ends up losing the case, it could have a serious impact on the way it runs the App Store.

You can read the full judgment from the Supreme Court over here.

[Via CNBC]

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