European regulators accused Apple on Friday of violating the European Union’s competition law, saying that the technology giant abuses its App Store rules to restrict rival music streaming apps.
The European Commission, which is in charge of enforcing antitrust laws, said Friday that Apple is breaking the law by charging app developers high commission fees, 30% on all subscriptions bought through its App Store, and does not allow apps to tell users about cheaper alternatives to buy products and services.
“Our preliminary conclusion is that Apple abused its dominant position for the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store and distorted competition in the music streaming markets,” Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of the EU’s competition policy, said during a press conference.
The European Commission started investigating Apple’s App Store conduct last summer after receiving a complaint from music app and podcast giant Spotify.
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“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,” the commission said in a press release.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek praised the commission’s decision, tweeting that “fairness is the key to competition.”
“We are one step closer to creating a level playing field, which is so important for the entire ecosystem of European developers,” he added.
Apple said it was being asked to comply with unreasonable demands.
“The Commission’s argument on Spotify’s behalf is the opposite of fair competition,” Apple said in a statement on Friday.
“At the core of this case is Spotify’s demand they should be able to advertise alternative deals on their iOS app, a practice that no store in the world allows. Once again, they want all the benefits of the App Store but don’t think they should have to pay anything for that,” the company added.
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Apple will now have the opportunity to respond to the commission and request a hearing to make its case. It usually takes many years for the EU to complete an antitrust case.
