June 30, 2025
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Proton AG, a Swiss privacy-first technology company, today joined an antitrust class action lawsuit against Apple Inc. The suit, brought on behalf of a proposed class of app developers, alleges that Apple engages in illegal, anti-competitive policies and practices through its App Store that harm developers, consumers, and the public interest.
The complaint details how Apple has abused its monopoly control over app distribution on iOS devices to impose predatory policies and tariffs through its App Store, resulting in inflated prices, diminished privacy protections, and degraded user experience. The legal action comes in the wake of recent rulings against Apple, including a €500 million fine issued by the European Commission, and a U.S. court decision finding Apple in willful defiance of court orders in Epic Games v. Apple. The latter noted that Apple’s misconduct was so extreme that the judge referred the company for criminal prosecution.
By joining that lawsuit, Proton aims to ensure that this suit will not only be about monetary damages to compensate app developers for Apple’s conduct, but also changes to App Store policies that will permanently end anti-competitive behavior on the App Store. Proton will donate any money it receives from the lawsuit to organizations fighting for democracy and human rights so that some portion of Apple’s profits are redirected to freedom.
The complaint alleges that Apple’s App Store practices—including mandatory 30% commission fees, censorship of privacy-first apps, and technical restrictions on competitors—constitute monopolistic behavior that stifles innovation.
It is widely reported that Apple has removed or censored apps at the behest of authoritarian governments, in order to continue profiting from those markets. The advocacy group GreatFire.org has found that 66 out of the 100 most popular apps worldwide, including news, social networking and messaging apps are unavailable to iOS users in China. Apple has also removed apps to help suppress protests, such as the 2019 case of HKmaps.org which was removed at the height of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Just last year Apple removed dozens of VPN apps from the Russian App Store, a particularly concerning step considering how vital these services are for Russian citizens trying to access independent media and bypass censorship by the Russian government. In 2020, Apple threatened to take Proton VPN off the App Store unless the company removed language that said the app could be used to “unblock censored websites.”
“It is critical for the future of the internet to end the monopoly on app distribution. Apple wields complete control over iOS app distribution and has time and time again used this power to harm competition and degrade users’ rights and experience for its own financial gain,” said Proton founder and CEO Andy Yen. “While it’s clearly a risk for Proton to take this stand, joining this lawsuit is the only way to push for tangible changes to Apple’s policies that will benefit developers and American consumers alike. Any money we receive from our participation in this lawsuit will be donated to organizations fighting for democracy and human rights so that some portion of Apple’s profits are redirected to causes that advance freedom around the world.”
Apple requires all developers pay a $99/year fee to be in the App Store, and takes a 30% cut from all revenue from all payments made through iOS apps. Companies that monetize user data in exchange for “free” services that abuse user privacy aren’t affected by this as they don’t process payments through the App Store. However, privacy-first companies that monetize through subscriptions are disproportionately hit by this fee, putting a major barrier towards the adoption of privacy-first business models. In many cases these are also the very companies Apple is directly competing with through its disingenuous “privacy” marketing campaigns.
“Our client, Proton, is bravely stepping forward to fight for meaningful change. Agreeing to lead a class action is inherently a selfless act as it requires doing work for the benefit of others,” said Michael Eisenkraft, partner at Cohen Milstein, one of the law firms representing Proton and the proposed class. “Without accountability, Apple could get away with behavior in the U.S. that stifles both competition and innovation.”
Apple claims the 30% fee is necessary to pay for the maintenance of the App Store, but evidence presented in Epic Games v. Apple indicated that Apple makes a staggering 78% profit margin on App Store fees. The company also prohibits developers from linking out to their websites, where users may be able to purchase service subscriptions directly from the developer, which has a negative impact on the user experience. Apple is able to bring in these steep profits at the expense of privacy-first developers due to the lack of competition in iOS app distribution.
Proton and the proposed class are represented by Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. The case was filed in the Northern District of California.
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About Proton AG
Proton was founded in 2014 in Switzerland by scientists from CERN. Our vision is an internet where privacy is the norm – supported by an ecosystem of services that are accessible to everyone, anywhere, anytime.
Our first product, Proton Mail, is now the largest encrypted email service in the world. Complementary products like Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, and Proton Pass also use advanced encryption technologies to give users full control over their data. All our products are open-source and are developed by a dedicated team of over 500 people, supported by an active community in more than 180 countries. The Proton Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Geneva, is the main shareholder of Proton. Today, we make privacy accessible to everyone and protect over 100 million accounts, including those of journalists, major international organizations, and ordinary people around the world.
About Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a premier U.S. plaintiffs’ law firm, with over 100 attorneys across eight offices, champions the causes of real people – workers, consumers, small business owners, investors, and whistleblowers – working to deliver corporate reforms and fair markets for the common good.
About Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is the largest law firm in the world devoted solely to business litigation and arbitration. Quinn Emanuel has been deemed the “most feared” law firm in BTI Consulting Group’s 2025 “Most Feared Law Firms in Litigation” guide in both 2024 and 2025.