IOS developer who drew attention to App Store scams, Apple now sues

Mobile app developer Kosta Eleftheriou, who publicly sued Apple earlier this year for negligence in policing iOS scams and copycat apps in the App Store, has filed a lawsuit against the iPhone maker in California. He accuses the company of using its monopolistic power over iOS apps “to make billions of dollars in profits at the expense of small application developers and consumers.”

Eleftheriou’s company KPAW LLC, which he owns with his partner Ashley Eleftheriou, filed his complaint in Santa Clara County on Wednesday. It details the development and release of Eleftheriou’s Apple Watch keyboard app FlickType.

When he started accusing Apple early last month of disputing App Store scams, Eleftheriou revealed that his FlickType app was targeted by competing software that he said did not work well, or did not work at all, and yet these sales and App Store rankings through fake ads and the purchase of fake reviews. After complaining, he said Apple had not done enough to combat the scams, although Apple later removed some of the applications to which he had paid attention.

Eleftheriou’s claims join a chorus of growing complaints against Apple and the App Store. Some developers, rival tech companies, regulators and now state legislators have accused the mobile market of being a monopoly in distributing software that harms competition and causes consumers to pay higher prices.

Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, both Apple and Google are suing antitrust lawsuits over the removal of the Battle Royale game last summer for using an alternative in-app payment system. Meanwhile, a group of app makers, ranging from Epic to Spotify to the Tinder parent company Match Group, have started suing state lawmakers to tackle the battle against the App Store and Google Play Store, with surprising success so far in Arizona and numerous other bills. across the country also underway.

In the complaint, Eleftheriou goes into further detail about what he claims are Apple’s wrongful actions, including alleged false advertising, breach of the developer agreement and fraud. One notable claim is that Apple is trying to acquire FlickType, after which Eleftheriou says it faced ‘roadblock after blockchain’ to sell its software in the App Store. The complaint indicates that Apple chose not to act on scam and copying apps, in an attempt to force Eleftheriou to sell its app to Apple. “Apparently Apple thought the plaintiff would simply give up and sell his application at a discount to Apple,” the complaint reads.

At the heart of the dispute is apparently talks that Eleftheriou had with Apple CEO Randy Marsden, who led the company’s mobile keyboard technology and later held the position of special project manager for text input. Marsden is known in the technology industry for co-founding the keyboard technology startup Swype, and for co-founding the Dryft app, which Apple acquired in 2015. The acquisition led to Marsden taking control of Apple’s iOS keyboard from 2014 to 2018.

Eleftheriou says that Marsden approached him, who expressed interest that Apple should get its software to improve the typing on the Apple Watch. Still, negotiations became quiet, after which Eleftheriou claimed Apple had removed its FlickType keyboard app and refused to approve future versions as well as a note variant, according to what he thinks is suspicious.

Only later did Apple allow both applications after months of appeals, and after Eleftheriou had numerous other application makers integrate its technology. Those programs that use the FlickType technology were seamlessly approved, the complaint reads. Meanwhile, many other portable and mobile keyboard apps feature Eleftheriou, as scams have also been approved and allowed in the App Store. “By this time, Apple’s unlawful rejection had already cost revenue more than a year,” the complaint reads.

Eleftheriou’s complaint states that this is proof that Apple ‘must bend its monopoly muscle against possible competition’:

Apple attracts software developers like Plaintiff to develop innovative applications with the promise of a fair and secure App Store to sell them. In fact, Apple is systematically bending its monopolistic muscle systems against potential competition through the App Store and earning advantage from unbridled fraudulent practices. If Apple can not buy the desired application of a developer cheaply, Apple tries to crush the developer by using fees and selective application of opaque and unreasonable restrictions on the developer.

At the same time, Apple allows other developers that Apple does not consider to be a real competition, including scam contests, to sell similar, inferior products because Apple makes a profit from their sales. Scammers often use screenshots and videos taken from applications from legitimate developers and manipulate their ratings. Apple does little to police these practices because it benefits from them. Apple then lies to its regulators by claiming that they must maintain their monopolistic power over the sale of Apple-related applications to protect consumers, while Apple is actually letting them down and exploiting the developers who try to deliver innovation to consumers.

Eleftheriou says even after his app became the first paid app in the App Store after it was approved, earning him $ 130,000 in the first month of release, he had to face a spate of scam programs and copying software that to FlickType. visible success.

“Despite possessing massive resources and technological skills, Apple is not deliberately succeeding in policing these fraudsters, which cost honest developers millions, and perhaps billions, while Apple still earns huge profits for itself,” the complaint reads. “Apple is holding both its users and developers hostage. Whenever Apple faces antitrust claims, Apple justifies its monopoly by claiming that it is necessary to protect users and developers from unscrupulous actions and ensure a fair competitive market to the benefit of both. In fact, Apple is turning a blind eye to rampant fraud and exploitation to make an easy profit. ”

Eleftheriou accuses Apple of false advertising, unfair competition in violation of California’s business law and professional code, breach of good faith and fair handling of the Apple Development Program License Agreement, fraud and negligence and negligent misrepresentation.

Apple was not immediately available for comment.