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.
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.”
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.
© AP Photo / Jenny Kane
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.”