EU charges Apple with antitrust violations

BREAKING — The European Union has leveled charges against Apple for violating antitrust laws, accusing the tech giant of abusing its dominant market position for distributing music-streaming apps through its App Store.

The European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, keyed in on two practices applied to all music-streaming apps that directly compete with Apple’s own Apple Music service. The first is Apple’s requirement that music-streaming app developers use Apple’s in-app payment mechanism to distribute their apps through the App Store and its 30% fee for use of the service. The second is Apple preventing app developers from disclosing other, cheaper means of acquiring their services.

The charges follow a complaint filed Horacio Gutierrez, chief legal officer and head of global affairs at Spotify, testified last week before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights regarding Apple’s App Store practices. During the hearing, Gutierrez said the App Store’s rules and fees creates a disadvantage for Spotify but “benefits Apple’s own service,” Apple Music, a principle competitor.

Margrethe Vestager, commission executive vice president in charge of competition policy, said in a press release that app stores play a “central role in today’s digital economy.” She said Apple’s high commission fees and lack of transparency are an abuse of power.

“Our preliminary finding is that Apple is a gatekeeper to users of iPhones and iPads via the App Store,” she said in the news release. “With Apple Music, Apple also competes with music streaming providers. By setting strict rules on the App Store that disadvantage competing music streaming services, Apple deprives users of cheaper music streaming choices and distorts competition.”

Reporting in progress — full story to follow