The EU has launched formal antitrust investigations into Apple's App Store and Apple Pay systems. The European Commission said it's concerned that Apple's proprietary payment systems may be limiting competition in the market for respectively digital music and ebooks, and mobile payment services. In both cases, the company appears to be favouring its own services over third-party services on iOS devices.
Two separate investigations were started. The App Store investigation centres on the mandatory use of Apple's in-app payment system for developers wanting to sell apps, subscriptions or content on the iOS app store. This requires a commission of 30 percent of the transaction value to Apple. Spotify and an unnamed e-books seller - thought to be Rakuten - filed complaints with the Commission over the Apple system. Spotify said the 30 percent fee and restrictions if it doesn't use the Apple payment service essentially means Apple is giving its own content services an unfair advantage over third-party sellers.
The second investigation covers the restrictions on the use of Apple Pay by third-party providers. In addition to limiting the ability of other providers to integrate Apple Pay in their systems, Apple also reserves access to the NFC element of its iOS devices to Apply Pay. The Commission said it would also look at the restricted access to Apple Pay for specific products of rivals on iOS devices.
The EU has been questioning the market already for input on the possible competition violations by Apple, and it appears to have found sufficient evidence to launch a formal, in-depth investigation. If the evidence is confirmed, a statement of objections will be sent to Apple for the company to provide a formal response.
The day before the EU announcement Apple released a study highlighting the value created by the App Store ecosystem.
