Swiss company joins class-action suit, arguing Apple’s policies harm privacy-focused businesses while benefiting surveillance capitalism
In a bold move that could reshape the mobile app ecosystem, privacy-focused email provider Proton AG filed a comprehensive antitrust lawsuit against Apple on June 30, 2025, announced on their blog, challenging the tech giant’s App Store practices and payment processing monopoly.
The 73-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, represents one of the most detailed legal challenges to Apple’s mobile platform control to date. Proton, known for its encrypted email service Proton Mail, is joining an existing class-action lawsuit while simultaneously filing its own detailed complaint against Apple.
Fighting for Real Change, Not Cosmetic Fixes
What sets Proton’s approach apart is its stated commitment to donate any monetary damages received from the lawsuit to organizations fighting for democracy and human rights. Instead, the company is focused on securing substantive changes to Apple’s App Store policies.
“We are seeking to permanently end anti-competitive behavior on the App Store,” Proton stated in explaining their decision to join the lawsuit. “We are joining this lawsuit to ensure that any future settlement enforces real changes to Apple’s practices and policies to benefit all consumers, developers, and competition, and not just cosmetic changes.”
The Core Arguments: Privacy vs. Surveillance Capitalism
Proton’s lawsuit makes a compelling argument that Apple’s current App Store structure inadvertently promotes what the company calls “surveillance capitalism” – the business model employed by companies like Meta and Google that monetize user data.
Here’s the key issue: companies offering “free” services that exploit user data don’t pay Apple’s 30% commission since they don’t process payments through apps. However, privacy-first companies like Proton that monetize through subscriptions are heavily impacted by Apple’s fees, creating what Proton argues is “a major barrier toward the adoption of privacy-first business models.”
This creates a perverse incentive structure where companies that respect user privacy are penalized, while those that exploit personal data face no such burden.
Beyond Business: Democracy and Free Speech Concerns
Perhaps most striking is Proton’s argument that Apple’s App Store monopoly poses risks to democracy and free speech. The lawsuit details how Apple’s complete control over app distribution has made it “the single point of failure for free speech and a tool of dictatorships.”
The filing highlights troubling statistics from advocacy group GreatFire.org: 66 of the 100 most popular apps worldwide are unavailable to iOS users in China, and all 240 VPN apps tested were unavailable to Chinese users. Overall, 27% of apps are missing from the Chinese App Store, with many being news apps from outlets like The New York Times, BBC News, and Reuters.
Proton itself has experienced this censorship firsthand. In 2020, Apple threatened to remove Proton VPN from the App Store unless the company removed language saying the app could be used to “unblock censored websites.”
Technical Restrictions That Hurt Competition
The lawsuit details how Apple’s technical restrictions prevent genuine competition. Proton describes being unable to link to basic customer support resources from their apps, creating a worse user experience. The company also cannot offer tiered pricing that reflects the cost savings of avoiding Apple’s payment processing fees.
Users who upgraded their Proton accounts via the web cannot manage their subscriptions from iOS devices, and vice versa. In a world where most users access services across multiple devices, this creates “an unacceptably poor customer experience.”
A Global Pattern of Regulatory Action
Proton’s lawsuit comes amid increasing global scrutiny of Apple’s App Store practices. The European Commission recently fined Apple €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position, while the U.S. Department of Justice and fifteen states filed their own antitrust suit against Apple in March 2024.
The lawsuit also references a recent court finding that Apple violated its 2021 injunction in the Epic Games case, with the court stating that Apple “thwarted the Injunction’s goals, and continued its anticompetitive conduct solely to maintain its revenue stream.”
Comprehensive Remedies Sought
Proton’s filing includes an extensive list of requested changes to Apple’s practices, including:
- Allowing alternative app stores and direct app distribution
- Permitting developers to use third-party payment processors
- Enabling clear communication about pricing and payment options
- Requiring equal access to iOS programming interfaces for third-party apps
- Allowing subscription management across devices and platforms
What This Means for Email Marketing and Privacy
For email marketing professionals, this lawsuit represents more than just another tech industry legal battle. The outcome could significantly impact:
Privacy-First Tools: Greater competition could accelerate innovation in privacy-focused email and marketing tools, giving businesses more options beyond traditional surveillance-based platforms.
Pricing Transparency: If successful, the lawsuit could enable companies like Proton to offer more transparent pricing structures, potentially passing cost savings to customers who choose alternative payment methods.
Cross-Platform Integration: Improved subscription management across devices could simplify customer journeys for email service providers and marketing platforms.
The Broader Stakes
As Proton notes in their filing, “Mobile apps are now the dominant platform of the internet and the way the bulk of the world interacts with one another and with the web.” The company argues that app stores have evolved from niche markets to critical internet infrastructure that’s “fundamental to democracy.”
This case will likely take years to resolve, but its implications extend far beyond any individual company’s business interests. The outcome could determine whether mobile platforms remain under the control of a few gatekeepers or evolve into more open, competitive ecosystems.
For an industry built on communication and reaching audiences where they are – increasingly on mobile devices – the stakes couldn’t be higher. The future of how businesses connect with customers, protect their privacy, and compete fairly in the digital marketplace may well hang in the balance.
Proton is represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC in this case.
