Brussels, 28 Feb. The European Commission (EC) on Tuesday amended the charges it had accused Apple of in 2021 of allegedly violating free competition in the online music market by abusing its dominant position.
Specifically, Brussels today announced in a statement that it has sent a statement of objections to Apple in which it clarifies its concerns about the rules of the company’s virtual application store, the App Store, for providers of online music, such as Spotify.
The App Store is the only way for iPhone and iPad users to download apps for these devices. App developers must therefore follow Apple’s rules if they want to reach these consumers.
In April 2021, the Ejecutivo comunitario envió a primer pliego de cargoes en el que acusaba a Apple de abusar de su position dominant en el mercado de la música en línea al imponer sur propia tecnología de pago integrada a los desarrolladores de applications de transmission de Music.
Then he also accused the US tech company of restricting app developers’ ability to tell iPhone and iPad users about alternative music subscription services.
However, in the statement of charges made public on Tuesday, the first charge is eliminated.
Thus, Brussels points out that its investigation is now focusing on the contractual restrictions that Apple has imposed on application developers, which prevent them from informing iPhone and iPad users about alternative music subscription services with lower prices outside the application and how to choose them. .
For the EC, Apple’s policies constitute “unfair trading conditions” which violate Community standards.
According to Brussels, the rule preventing alternatives from being flagged “is neither necessary nor proportionate” and is “detrimental” to users of online music services on Apple mobile devices, “who may end up paying more”.
Moreover, it considers that it “negatively” affects the interests of those who develop online music applications by limiting effective consumer choice. EFE
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