Apple Inc. faces a twin-pronged attack from European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager amid concerns the U. S. tech giant’s App Store and Apple Pay services squeeze developers and potential rivals.
Apple Inc. faces a twin-pronged attack from European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager amid concerns the U. S. tech giant’s App Store and Apple Pay services squeeze developers and potential rivals.
Just four years after hitting Apple with a record-breaking tax bill, Vestager has switched her attention to the iPhone maker’s market power.
The EU will review whether Apple’s app store violates competition law by requiring developers to accept a 30% commission for every sale on Apple’s platform. Watchdogs will also examine how Apple limits “tap-and-go” functionality to its own Apple Pay product.
“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,” Vestager said in a statement on Tuesday. “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.”
The investigation is the latest in a growing list of EU probes into Silicon Valley, which have led to criticism from U. S. President Donald Trump. The EU last year wrapped up nearly a decade of probes into Google that racked up some $9 billion in fines. An investigation into Amazon.com is set to escalate in the coming weeks.
Apple said that the EU is responding to complaints from rivals that “simply want a free ride, and don’t want to play by the same rules as everyone else.
