EU Court Rules Dutch Class Action Against Apple Can Proceed in One Court

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a Dutch class action against Apple can be handled by a single court, clearing the way for a nationwide case over alleged App Store overcharging. The judgment confirms that the District Court in Amsterdam can hear claims on behalf of all affected users in the Netherlands, rather than splitting the case across multiple local courts.

The action is being brought by two consumer groups — Stichting Right to Consumer Justice and Stichting App Stores Claims — on behalf of Dutch iPhone and iPad users. They argue that Apple abused its dominant position by charging commissions of up to 30% on app purchases and in-app digital products. Similar claims have surfaced elsewhere, including a recent landmark ruling in the UK that found the same fees to be unfair.


The jurisdiction issue reached the EU's highest court after the Amsterdam court asked how EU law should be applied in a nationwide digital-platform case. Apple had maintained that only users living within the Amsterdam district should fall under its authority, with users elsewhere in the country required to file in their own local courts.

The Court rejected that view. Because purchases on the App Store occur the same way across the entire Netherlands, the judges held that any alleged overpayment is considered to have taken place nationwide. As a result, one court — provided it already has the type of jurisdiction needed to hear the dispute — can handle the full representative action.

The ruling also notes that forcing the case to be broken up across several courts would make collective actions far less effective, undermining what they are meant to achieve.

With this procedural hurdle out of the way, the Dutch foundations can now move on to arguing the substance of their claims. The decision also arrives at a time when Apple is already under pressure in Europe, where it has recently clashed with regulators over the Digital Markets Act and its App Store policies.


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