According to Reuters, Apple will face fresh antitrust charges in the European Union as a result of a music streaming investigation sparked by a complaint from Spotify. The charges are part of an ongoing investigation by the European Commission into Spotify’s allegations of anti-competitive behaviour in the music streaming industry, and they imply that the EU is bolstering its case against Apple as big tech faces more scrutiny across the region.
Spotify filed a complaint with the European Commission in 2019, accusing Apple of enforcing App Store rules that “purposefully limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience,” accusing the company of “acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers.”
Spotify blames Apple for charging a 30% commission
Spotify specifically pointed out that Apple’s 30% commission on App Store purchases, including in-app subscriptions, causes the music streaming service to charge existing users $12.99 per month for its Premium plan on the App Store only to make up for the $9.99 per month it normally charges.
It’s been suggested that this provides Apple an “unfair edge,” because Spotify can’t compete with Apple Music’s usual $9.99 per month price on the App Store. If Spotify refuses to accept payments through the App Store, the Cupertino based tech giant is said to “impose a series of technical and experience-limiting restrictions.” According to reports, Apple is “keeping Spotify and other competitors out of Apple services like Siri, HomePod, and Apple Watch,” making Apple Music a more appealing option for users.
The iPhone maker was found to violate EU competition legislation in April 2021, according to the inquiry. The company dismissed claims of anti-competitive activity, claiming at the time of Spotify’s complaint that its competitor was misrepresenting its financial objectives.
According to a source familiar with the situation who spoke to Reuters, the European Commission now plans to include further antitrust accusations in a supplementary statement of objections, which are typically used when an EU competition enforcer changes portions of its case or obtains new information. According to reports, the additional charges will be levied in the coming weeks.
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