The ongoing battle between Apple and music streaming service Spotify may finally get a resolution this week.
The European Union’s competition watchdog is expected to issue antitrust charges against Apple in the coming days as part of its investigation into Apple’s App Store policies.
Apple’s Antitrust Charges
According to Financial Times, since June 2020, the regulator has been probing Apple’s mandatory use of its own payment system for in-app purchases and the 30% commission it applies to apps sold on the store. A separate EU probe is scrutinizing Apple’s approach to mobile payments.
Upon launching the investigation, the EU’s competition chief Margrethe Vestager said that Apple had obtained a gatekeeper role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content on its devices.
Also Read: Apple Antitrust Complaint: French Users Accuse Company of Running Personalized Ads Without Consent in New iOS 14.4
The probe was initiated in the wake of a complaint lodged by Spotify in 2019, accusing Apple of using numerous discriminatory practices to sideline the streaming company as a competitor to Apple’s very own music streaming service, Apple Music.
In just one year, a long list of companies as diverse as Epic Games, Match Group, and Tile, had joined Spotify in an alliance made to pressure both Apple and Google into changing their App Store rules.
However, Apple has assertions presented.
The company argued that Spotify was driven by financial motivation and only wanted to benefit from the App Store without making any contributions of its own. Nonetheless, Apple has tried to address the backlash by giving 15% of App Store commission to smaller developers that make up to $1 million in sales every year.
The EU decision about the case will be watched by other watchdogs who are wary of massive tech company’s influence over the digital market.
In March, the UK launched its own antitrust investigation into Apple’s App Store policies. A senate committee in the United States is also looking into competition issues that are related to mobile app stores and recently called on Apple, Google, and other companies to testify.
Apple’s Refusal to Testify
As reported by Bloomberg, Apple was unwilling to take part in the Senate hearing earlier this month. The hearing was about the anti-competitive app store practices.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, wrote a letter addressing Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee, the chair and leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee.
Apple declined to send a witness just 16 days before the scheduled start of the hearings.
Cook cited ongoing litigation as the reason for its decision to not testify. Apple is currently entangled in a highly public legal battle with Epic Games over its App Store policies.
Senator Klobuchar and Senator Lee pointed out that Apple has found way to make witnesses available in the past, yet can’t do it for the hearing.
The Senators also reference testimony the company provided in the North Dakota Senate and Arizona House of Representatives when the two states considered their recent app store reform bills, and an interview Tim Cook did with The New York Times in which he talked about Epic Games and the App Store.
According to Engadget, on Apr. 11, Apple sent a letter to Senators Klobuchar and Lee and told them that an executive will testify, with Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer who testified at the Apr. 21 hearing.
Related Article: Spotify, Match Accuse Apple at App Store Antitrust Hearing: ‘Nothing More Than an Abusive Power Grab’
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Written by Sophie Webster
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