European Commission launches antitrust probes over Apple's App Store and Apple Pay

The EU's antitrust authorities has officially launched two investigations into Apple, specifically surrounding the App Store and with Apple Pay.

Apple is now facing formal investigation into alleged anticompetitive practices over both the App Store and Apple Pay. The European Union's antitrust authority has announced the two conduct investigations, and this is the start of a process that potentially could lead to Apple being fined up to 10% of its annual revenue.

"It appears that Apple sets the conditions on how Apple Pay should be used in merchants' apps and websites," said EU Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager in a statement. "It also reserves the "tap and go" functionality of iPhones to Apple Pay."

"It is important that Apple's measures do not deny consumers the benefits of new payment technologies, including better choice, quality, innovation and competitive prices," she continued. "I have therefore decided to take a close look at Apple's practices regarding Apple Pay and their impact on competition."

In a separate announcement about the App Store investigation, Vestager said that Apple appears to have created a "gatekeeper" role for itself regarding "the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple's popular devices."

"We need to ensure that Apple's rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books," she said.

Apple has responded to the investigation with a very brief statement, critical of the complainants and the European Commission itself.

"It is disappointing the European Commission is advancing baseless complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free ride, and don't want to play by the same rules as everyone else," Apple said to AppleInsider and other venues.

These two probes follow on from complaints by Spotify that Apple allegedly employs restrictive and anticompetitive rules for developers on the App Store. Spotify filed its complaint in 2019 and Apple has publicly denied its accusations. That Spotify complaint has most recently been followed by the Japanese retail firm Rakuten, which has now made an antitrust complaint to the EU against Apple.

The EU has not announced any timescale for the investigations, and together with any possibly court cases, the probes are likely to take several years.

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56 Comments

SpaceGrayAllDay 14 comments · 5 Years

About 4 years ago

Oh for crying out loud!!

Joe Piervincenti 26 comments · 6 Years

This is the kind of thing that won’t go anywhere.. notice how they don’t have the same issue with Google Pay on a Pixel, etc... can’t use Apple Pay on those but that’s fine...

gwydion 1083 comments · 16 Years

Joe Piervincenti said:

This is the kind of thing that won’t go anywhere.. notice how they don’t have the same issue with Google Pay on a Pixel, etc... can’t use Apple Pay on those but that’s fine...

You can't because Apple has not developed the app. If they do, you can use Apple Pay in any Android smartphone with NFC

gatorguy 24609 comments · 13 Years

Joe Piervincenti said:

This is the kind of thing that won’t go anywhere.. notice how they don’t have the same issue with Google Pay on a Pixel, etc... can’t use Apple Pay on those but that’s fine...

Of course they wouldn't be talking about Pixels in the investigation of Apple. That's what forum members do. ;)

GeorgeBMac 11421 comments · 8 Years

Based on Libertarian, Free Market principles, if that's all one is looking at, then yes, Apple's practices are anti-competitive.

But, if one looks at the whole picture then, like any and every government, Apple sets rules. And those Rules & Restrictions are designed to protect both the brand and the consumers who buy that brand. One simply can't separate the two.

Perhaps a good analogy is to look at AT&T: various private enterprise groups wanted to start their own telephone companies, so they used anti-competitive rulings to take down one of America's premier companies. The result: AT&T was destroyed, the start-ups failed and America and Americans lost.
(Interesting side note: Without AT&T we may not have ever had an Apple as hacking into its systems with their blue box was Steve & Woz's first taste producing a marketable product together)

Personally, I welcome the security and peace of mind ApplePay gives me and do not want that interfered with. Likewise, I wish that Apple would increase and improve its policing of 3rd party apps on the App Store.

... One of the reasons I favor Apple is its stability, security and privacy protections. Opening up to third parties would make it more Microsoft like.

....... Perhaps that emphasis on security & privacy stems from the founders initial efforts as entrepreneurs by hacking one of America's most prestigious organzations?

But, with lots of money sloshing around, there will always be people and organizations looking for a slice of that pie -- and (mis)using government to get it.