That's it: the European Commission (EC) has released its first conclusions as part of its investigation into practices deemed anti-competitive by the App Store. According to the institution, the observation is clear: the commercial development ofApple Music is favoredto the detriment of alternative platforms.
And who better than SwedishSpotify,which has just increased its prices, to come to give grist to this argument? It must be said that the music streaming service is precisely one of the most vindictive towards Cupertino, which forces it to offer its subscriptions outside its iOS app to avoid paying it 30% of the amount of each transaction . On the occasion of the EC's decision, its CEO took the opportunity to salute the efforts made in this regard:
Today is a big day. Fairness is the key to competition. With the@EU_CommissionStatement of Objections, we are one step closer to creating a level playing field, which is so important for the entire ecosystem of European developers.https://t.co/dOw1K0Qo1W
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal)April 30, 2021
A system increasingly criticized
What some are already calling a “tax” on payments does not only worry Spotify. Epic Games,who is currently fighting against Tim Cook's lawyers in the United States, is the perfect example. His video gameFortnite, one of the most popular on the planet across all media, was simply banned from iPhones for trying to offer its own payment solution without going through Apple's. And therefore without paying the 30%.
According to the European Commission, the fact that the operating system even prohibits developers from informing their users that it is possible to checkout via other means is also against the law. But some publishers are already able to imagine solutions to this problem,like Amazon with its audiobook app called Audible.
What response can we expect from Apple?
In order to settle the matter, Europe is offering Apple the possibility of sharing its right of reply within three months. A horizon broad enough to perfect his speech, but which has little chance of truly closing the debate. We just need to look at the situation currently taking place across the Atlantic, where the Senate is attacking the App Store policy for similar reasons.
With its significant expenditure inlobbying, Apple also has serious strings to its bow to defend itself from these accusations. But it still happens that the company finds itself forced to pay heavy fines just to serve as a lesson to the entire ecosystem, as happened in France or Italy.
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By : Keleops AG
