William Gallagher
A new report claims that Apple Music will be the subject of an additional antitrust charge by the European Union, on top of the 2021 ruling against Apple's App Store.
In April 2021, the European Commission ruled that Apple was in breach of EU laws over the App Store. The decision was called a "preliminary conclusion," however, and now it appears that the antitrust investigators have more charges to bring.
According to Reuters, the unspecified further charge will be levied against Apple in the coming weeks. The charge will be listed in what the EU calls a supplementary statement of objections, which often means the investigators have new evidence.
The EU's investigation stems from an initial complaint by Spotify. In part, the complaint concerned an allegation that Apple was unfairly preventing third-party payment systems to be used, and that would be illegal under the forthcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA).
This DMA is yet to become law, although EU antitrust lead Margrethe Vestager, believes it will be in place by October 2022. Even if it is, however, Apple and other companies affected will potentially have two or more years to comply.
According to Reuters, this delay in enforcement is why separate antitrust charges are required. Firms breaching antitrust rules may be fined up to 10% of their global turnover.
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6 Comments
What Spotify said was happening: 30% commission made it impossible to compete on price, Apple made it too difficult to sell subscriptions outside the App Store.
What was actually happening: 99% of Spotify's iOS subscribers were buying subscriptions outside the App Store, Spotify was #1 global music streaming service.
Apple’s logo is the color white so the EU will continue to bring charges and taxes
EU officials recently revealed that their iPhones (still their device of choice, I see) had been hacked by Pegasus spyware or attempts at hacking were discovered. EU officials should get used to more of the same if they force Apple to allow sideloading and break open the App Store. It seems EU regulators have let Swedish music streamers and companies from Redmond and Cary, NC whisper into their ears too much.
Big is not always bad. The EU is admired for its concerns about monopolies but they seem to be on the slippery slope of the Draconian Mountain Range.
The EU is not admired by anyone except unelected technocrats.