A federal judge in San Francisco has dismissed a consumer lawsuit accusing Apple of raising fees on platforms like Venmo and Cash App by banning payment apps from conducting virtual currency transactions.
In a ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria called the proposed class action “speculative” and said it “has several critical problems.” He gave the plaintiffs 21 days to amend their complaint.
A November 2023 lawsuit alleges that Apple imposed limits on virtual currency technology in its popular App Store, stifled competition in peer-to-peer payments, and increased fees for cash and credit card transactions on PayPal's Venmo and Block's Cash App. He claimed that it was pushing up the Apple said it has excluded at least two Bitcoin wallet apps.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The company denies wrongdoing.
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Lawyers for the plaintiffs declined to comment.
In February, Cupertino, California-based Apple asked Mr. Chabria to drop the lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate illegal app rules or business agreements.
The plaintiffs' lawsuit alleges that companies like Venmo and Cash App have agreed to certain App Store iPhone guidelines that prevent developers from using some crypto transactions.
Chhabria said in his ruling that it is not clear whether a company's compliance with such guidelines constitutes an “unlawful agreement” under federal antitrust law.
Apple also faces other antitrust lawsuits, including one from the U.S. Department of Justice and a group of states that claim the iPhone maker illegally monopolizes the smartphone market. Apple denied the allegations and said it would file a lawsuit.
In September, in a separate case, a federal judge said payment card issuers could sue Apple for alleged anticompetitive practices related to the Apple Pay mobile wallet.
Other lawsuits challenge Apple's rules regarding iCloud storage, with consumers filing class-action lawsuits accusing the company of monopolizing the iPhone app market.
The case is Lamartine Pierre et al v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, case number 5:23-cv-05981.
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