The European Commission believes that the App Store does not comply with new EU competition rules – something the Apple brand denies. Thus, this Monday the EU paved the way for a gigantic fine against Apple.
“The App Store rules violate the Digital Markets Regulation (DMA) because they prevent app developers from directing consumers to alternative distribution channels for offers and content,” Brussels said in a “preliminary opinion.”
Apple has built its success on a closed ecosystem around the iconic iPhone and iPad, over which it controls everything – a philosophy in direct conflict with European competition rules. The California-based group defends itself, citing safety concerns and increased comfort for its users.
Decisive step since the opening of the investigation on March 25
“Over recent months, Apple has made a number of changes to comply with DMA requirements (…) We are confident that our proposals comply with European legislation,” the company responded on Monday.
“All developers working on the AppStore in the EU have the opportunity to use the features we’ve introduced, including the ability to direct users to (the site) online to make purchases,” she said.
The opinion published this Monday is the first under the new competition rules introduced by the DMA and which became mandatory at the beginning of March. This is a decisive step since the investigation began on March 25.
Apple now has the opportunity to exercise its defense rights by gaining access to the file and will be able to respond in writing to the preliminary findings. If confirmed, the Commission will make a final decision on non-compliance by the end of March 2025.
Previous Spotify
Apple could then be fined up to 10% of its global turnover – or more than 30 billion euros based on last year’s sales – and even later up to 20% in the event of a repeat violation.
Brussels also gave itself the power to destroy violators, which became a weapon of deterrence and the last hope.
Under the DMA, “companies that distribute their apps through the Apple App Store must be able to inform their customers, free of charge, of cheaper alternative purchasing options, be able to direct them to those offers, and allow them to make purchases,” the DMA explained. Commission.
Brussels believes this is not the case today, despite repeated warnings from the EU and changes made by Apple. This is an old dispute between the American giant and the Commission, which oversees competition in the EU.
For similar reasons, the Cupertino group was already fined €1.8 billion by the Commission in early March following an investigation launched in June 2020 following a complaint from music streaming platform Spotify.
Apple, which considers itself compliant, has filed an appeal to the EU Court of Justice to overturn this sanction, which stems from antitrust rules already in place in the DMA.
“The Saga That Lasted Too Long”
This new regulation, which allows us to act faster and stronger against competitive abuses by digital giants, has been introduced to protect the entry and growth of start-ups in Europe and provide more choice to consumers.
“We are determined to use a clear and effective set of DMA tools to quickly end a saga that has already gone on for too many years,” said European Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton.
“Apple’s new slogan should be act differently. For too long, the tech giant has crowded out innovative companies and denied consumers new opportunities,” he said.
On March 25, the Commission launched another procedure targeting Apple for failing to meet its obligations to offer users a readily available alternative to its Safari web browser.
On Monday, Brussels was particularly concerned about the fees charged to developers for each app downloaded, as well as the difficulty of accessing alternative app stores on the App Store.
In addition to Apple, the DMA applies to four other American giants – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft – as well as the social network TikTok, owned by the Chinese group ByteDance, as well as the Dutch hotel booking platform Booking.
Investigations into Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook, Instagram) were also launched due to non-compliance with the new rules.
Source: Le Parisien
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