The European Commission stated this week that Apple has abused its power in the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store following a complaint from Spotify.
CNBC reports that the European Commission stated this week that Apple has “abused its dominant position,” in the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store following a complaint from music streaming service Spotify.
Margrethe Vestager, the head of competition policy in the EU, stated in a press conference: “Our preliminary finding is that Apple exercises considerable market power in the distribution of music streaming apps to owners of Apple devices. On that market, Apple has a monopoly.”
The European Commission is the EU’s executive arm and opened an antitrust investigation into Apple’s App Store last year after the music streaming platform Spotify complained in 2019 that Appel’s license agreements were unfair.
The license agreement state that app developers have to pay a 30 percent commission on all subscription fees that come through the App Store. On Friday, the EU stated that it took issue with the “mandatory use of Apple’s own in-app purchase mechanism imposed on music streaming app developers to distribute their apps via Apple’s App Store.”
App developers are also banned from informing users of alternative purchasing methods for the same apps elsewhere. In a “statement of objections” sent to Apple, the European Commission summarized: “The European Commission has informed Apple of its preliminary view that it distorted competition in the music streaming market as it abused its dominant position for the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store.”
Our preliminary conclusion: @Apple is in breach of EU competition law. @AppleMusic compete with other music streaming services. But @Apple charges high commission fees on rivals in the App store & forbids them to inform of alternative subscription options. Consumers losing out.
— Margrethe Vestager (@vestager) April 30, 2021
Apple stated in its response that the EU’s case was the “opposite of fair competition.” The company said in a statement: “Spotify has become the largest music subscription service in the world, and we’re proud of the role we played in that. Once again, they want all the benefits of the App Store but don’t think they should have to pay anything for that.”
Spotify’s chief legal officer Horacio Gutierrez said in a statement: “The European Commission’s Statement of Objections is a critical step toward holding Apple accountable for its anticompetitive behavior, ensuring meaningful choice for all consumers and a level playing field for app developers.”
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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