Apple has been hit by a lawsuit claiming it rejected a coronavirus contact tracking application to maintain a COVID-19 exposure notification monopoly.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the New Hampshire District, focuses on a smartphone app called “Coronavirus Reporter” that was denied entry to the App Store in March 2020.
Coronavirus Reporter, the lawsuit claims, was developed by a team of health and computer experts in February 2020 to “capture and obtain critical biostatistical and epidemiological data as it happened.”
The team behind the app completed its development on March 3, the complaint continues. It was the time when Apple banned coronavirus-related apps that did not come from medical, government, or other recognized institutions in the App Store.
The tech giant in an ad posted on its developer website in mid-March last year noted its commitment to making the App Store a “safe and trusted site,” saying it was critically evaluating the coronavirus-related applications to ensure that data sources have a good reputation and that the developers who present these applications come from recognized entities such as government organizations, health-focused NGOs, companies with deep credentials in health issues, and medical institutions or educational. “He also acknowledged the time – sensitive nature of publishing these applications and made adjustments to expedite the review process.
After Apple rejected Coronavirus Reporter, the app’s developers appealed. The title was finally rejected about 20 days later because it was not backed by a reputable healthcare company and its “user-generated data has not been verified by the accuracy of a reputable source.”
The complaint says Apple allowed another app to work similarly to the App Store about a month later. He also has issues with the Apple and Google exposure reporting framework, which he says is “largely a failure.”
Beyond ensuring accurate data from legitimate sources, Apple’s cross-platform notification notification protocol, developed in collaboration with Google, is based on a privacy-based framework. The system denies the storage of personal data on central servers and relies on anonymized Bluetooth beacons on user devices until participants decide to share the information with a third party. If a user is diagnosed with COVID-19, they can choose to upload a 14-day list of recent (again, anonymized) contacts to a distribution server, which matches the beacon identifiers and sends notifications alerting those who they have come into close contact with a carrier of the virus. Doctors may also examine the data if such access is granted.
Third-party applications that integrate with the Exposure Notification API must comply with Apple’s rules.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple blocked Coronavirus Reporter in an effort to maintain a monopoly on contact tracking applications. In addition, it states that Apple’s ability to “arbitrarily determine which applications will be released or not will have substantial anticompetitive effects.”
The lawsuit says the actions constitute a violation of Sherman’s antitrust law. A compromise is sought with the alleged anti-competitive behavior; damages in excess of $ 75,000; and a permanent requirement restricting Apple’s ability to “[restrict] reasonable applications “.