Apple to Face Additional Antitrust Charge Amid EU Regulators’ Music Streaming Probe

© AP Photo / Matthias SchraderIn this Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 file photo, the logo of Apple is illuminated at a store in the city center in Munich, Germany. Apple said late Wednesday Sept. 1, 2021, it is relaxing rules to allow some app developers such as Spotify, Netflix and digital publishers to include an outside link so users can sign up for paid subscription accounts.
In this Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 file photo, the logo of Apple is illuminated at a store in the city center in Munich, Germany. Apple said late Wednesday Sept. 1, 2021, it is relaxing rules to allow some app developers such as Spotify, Netflix and digital publishers to include an outside link so users can sign up for paid subscription accounts.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 12.04.2022
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Back in 2019, Spotify filed a complaint with the European Commission alleging that Apple was “acting as both a player and referee” in its enforcement of App Store rules that, in part, “disadvantage other app developers” and “purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience.”
Antitrust regulators in the EU are readying an additional charge against Apple amid a yearslong probe initiated by a March 2019 complaint filed by Spotify, according to a Reuters report citing an individual familiar with the ongoing matter.
Spotify has remained firm in its claim that Apple’s policy for managing in-app payments was stifling market competitors with a 30% fee tacked on to in-app purchases for subscription-based companies.
Because the fee is nonexistent for subscriptions offered through Apple’s own affiliated apps, Spotify and other music streaming services were more costly for users, despite having similar base prices.
The music streaming service pointed out that subscription services not utilizing Apple’s in-app payment system are subject to “a series of technical and experience-limiting restrictions.” Apple has also been accused of locking Spotify and other competitors out of compatibility with company services like Siri, HomePod, and Apple Watch.
This combination created on March 13, 2019 of file illustrations displayed on tablet screens shows the logo of the US multinational technology company Apple (bottom, February 18, 2019 in Paris) and the logo of online streaming music service Spotify (April 19, 2018 in Paris). - Swedish music streaming giant Spotify said on March 13, 2019 it had filed a formal complaint with the EU Commission against Apple, accusing its US rival of stifling competition in the online music market. - Sputnik International, 1920, 16.09.2020
Spotify Accuses Apple of Unfair Competition - Reports
Just last year, the European Commission issued a preliminary conclusion stating Apple was in breach of competition law and distorted the music streaming market “as it abused its dominant position for the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store.”
“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,” European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said in a quoted statement.
“This is done by charging high commission fees on each transaction in the App Store for rivals and by forbidding them from informing their customers of alternative subscription options.”
© AP Photo / Jenny KaneThis Jan. 28, 2018, file photo shows music streaming apps clockwise from top left, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and Google on an iPhone in New York.
This Jan. 28, 2018, file photo shows music streaming apps clockwise from top left, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and Google on an iPhone in New York.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 11.04.2022
This Jan. 28, 2018, file photo shows music streaming apps clockwise from top left, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and Google on an iPhone in New York.
Apple has denied the claims of anti-competitive behavior leveled against the company. It also took specific aim at Spotify, accusing the music streaming service of weaponizing “misleading rhetoric.”
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