FlickType Lawsuit Allowed to Proceed
The judge has ruled that at least half the claims can proceed and is giving Eleftheriou the opportunity to amend the remaining items that were dismissed.
[…]
In his own lawsuit against Apple, Eleftheriou aims to document what he alleges were an unfair series of rejections for his Apple Watch keyboard app, FlickType, from the App Store. At the time, Apple told Eleftheriou his app offered a “poor user experience” and noted full keyboard apps were not allowed for Apple Watch. But, he says, it then allowed competitor keyboard apps as well as third-party apps (like Nano for Reddit, Chirp for Twitter, WatchChat for WhatsApp and Lens for Instagram) to launch on the App Store — the latter using an integratable version of the FlickType keyboard, in seeming contradiction to Apple’s earlier claims over FlickType’s poor usability.
When Apple chose to approve FlickType in January 2020, the keyboard app reached the App Store’s top 10 paid app list and generated $130,000 in revenue during its first month, Eleftheriou said. But this soon made it a target for scammers who launched barely usable competitors boosted by fake ratings and reviews, he claims.
Via Kosta Eleftheriou:
In court, Apple didn’t address each cause of action individually, but instead made “a series of broad arguments” claiming that even if this is all true, it shouldn’t matter because they’re not breaking any laws.
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While they advertise the App Store as a “safe and trusted” marketplace and “a great opportunity for all developers to be successful”, Apple also told the court that I couldn’t “reasonably and justifiably” rely on such “general statements.”
[…]
Apple has blocked entire categories of apps from ever seeing the light of day, for self-serving reasons.
A wave of lost innovation is just waiting to happen, and we shouldn’t have to wait for Apple to approve it.
Previously:
- Schneier on Sideloading
- “American Innovation and Choice Online” and “Open Markets” Acts
- FlickType Developer Sues Apple
- Scammy KeyWatch and Trezor Apps
- Potential
