EU narrows probe into Apple over music streaming
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The European Union narrowed a probe into Apple's allegedly unfair treatment of music streaming firms such as Spotify, refocusing on curbs that prevent firms from steering users away from the App Store.
The European Commission said it has issued a revised charge sheet known as a statement objections, two years after hitting the tech company with a broader complaint laying out how it thinks Apple abused its power as the “gatekeeper” for apps on its devices.
The EU regulator said it no longer targets concerns “as to the legality” of Apple’s practice of imposing its own in-app purchase payment technology on music streaming app developers.
Instead, the probe hones in “on the contractual restrictions that Apple imposed on app developers which prevent them from informing iPhone and iPad users of alternative music subscription options at lower prices outside of the app, and to effectively choose those”.
While the EU’s competition teams have been working on the case for almost three years, it was the introduction of separate rules from that it convinced Apple to make a historic pivot — with a sweeping overhaul allowing alternative app stores on its iPhones and iPads.
Spotify, the most popular music app in Europe, has been one of Apple’s fiercest critics, pressing the EU regulator into action with a complaint over how Apple takes an unfair cut of its subscription fees.
“Today, the European Commission sent a clear message that Apple’s anti-competitive behaviour and unfair practices have harmed consumers and disadvantaged developers for far too long,” Spotify’s general counsel Eve Konstan said in a statement.
- Bloomberg