Apple faces legal trouble for interfering with the use of encryption technology in iOS payment apps

Apple, which has faced constant criticism from the Web3 industry for its unfriendly policies, is currently in legal trouble. A number of outraged Apple users, who are also part of the crypto community, are currently filing a class action lawsuit against Apple. In its complaint, the group accused the iPhone maker of failing to expand its range of peer-to-peer payment services and specifically limiting cryptocurrency payments. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of California.

In their complaint, the plaintiffs accuse Apple of entering into anti-competition agreements with Cash App, owned by Jack Dreasy's block, and payments app Venmo, owned by PayPal. Through these agreements, Apple has been accused of blocking crypto payments that forced some users to continue paying “rapidly escalating prices.” The lawsuit also alleges that Apple uses technical and contractual constraints to exercise too much control over all apps running on iOS.

“These agreements limit market-wide feature competition and resulting price competition, including prohibiting the incorporation of decentralized cryptocurrency technology into existing or new iOS peer-to-peer payment apps,” Cointelegraph said. Citing the lawsuit.

A snapshot of the 58-page court filing has been circulated on X.

Apple has so far not responded to the development. The tech giant has maintained a safe distance from the volatile cryptocurrency sector, but has not disclosed any plans to integrate its ecosystem with Web3 anytime soon. Apple has become notorious for its battles with Web3 apps. In June of this year, two Bitcoin wallet providers, Zeus and Damus, accused the iPhone maker of restricting their apps on Apple's App Store.

Meanwhile, in April, the California Court of Appeals slammed Apple's policy of not allowing app developers to integrate third-party payment methods into their services as “unlawful.” The court's ruling is expected to result in changes to Apple's App Store payment practices, and could also allow Web3 apps to add more functionality to their iOS versions.