EU authorities open 2 Apple antitrust probes
LONDON — European Union regulators opened two investigations Tuesday into Apple’s mobile app store and payment platform over concerns its practices distort competition, opening a new front in the EU’s battle against the dominance of big tech companies.
The EU’s executive commission said it formally launched the investigations over concerns that Apple’s way of doing business hurts consumers by limiting choice and innovation and keeping prices high.
Apple dismissed the complaints as “baseless.”
The commission is examining whether Apple Pay’s rules require online shops to make it the preferred or default option, effectively shutting out rival payment systems. It’s also investigating concerns that it limits access for rival payment systems to the “tap and go” wireless function on iPhones.
The commission opened a second investigation into the App Store over concerns Apple forces developers to use the company’s own in-app purchasing system, which charges them a 30% commission, and restricts them from telling iPhone and iPad users about other ways to pay for digital services like music subscriptions.
The investigation follows complaints from music streaming service Spotify and an e-book distributor on the impact of the App Store’s rules on competition.
“It appears that Apple obtained
a‘gatekeeper’ role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple’s popular devices,” EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said.
Regulators want to make sure Apple’s practices don’t affect competition in markets where it competes with other app makers, she said.
It’s also “important that Apple’s measures do not deny consumers the benefits of new payment technologies, including better choice, quality, innovation and competitive prices,” she said.
Apple rejected the allegations.
“We follow the law in everything we do and we embrace competition at every stage because we believe it pushes us to deliver even better results,” the company said in a statement.