Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Thank you, Mr. Air, a netizen of CTOnews.com, for your clue delivery! CTOnews.com, February 28 (Xinhua)-- the European Commission said on Tuesday that the antitrust investigation into Apple will no longer focus on intra-app payment technology, but will focus on Apple's "contract restrictions" on developers of Apple Music music apps. These contracts prevent developers from telling iPhone and iPad users about cheaper music subscription options outside the app.

Spotify first filed a complaint against Apple in 2019, and the European Commission launched an investigation in 2020. The committee issued a preliminary "statement of dissent" against Apple in 2021, listing possible violations of antitrust laws. The committee focuses on two issues: Apple forces developers to use its own in-app payment system and charges for it, and other ways Apple prevents developers from promoting subscriptions to its apps.

The European Commission did not say why it dropped the accusation that Apple required developers to use its own in-app payment system. Although the European Union dropped the charge of monopolizing Apple's in-app payment system and focused on the charges against Apple Music, the European Commission strengthened the wording of the allegations against the latter and announced a "preliminary point of view." That is, "Apple's anti-guidance mechanism (anti-steering mechanism) is an unfair condition of transaction and violates Article 102 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union."

Apple can now respond to the EU's allegations. If Apple is found to have anti-competitive behaviour, the company will face a fine of up to 10 per cent of its annual global turnover. If Apple had revenue of $394.33 billion in 2022, that would be a fine of up to $39.4 billion (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 273.83 billion yuan).

Apple said it was pleased that the European Commission had narrowed the scope of the antitrust investigation and would respond to EU concerns.

In a statement, Spotify's general counsel, Eve Konstan, said: "Today, the European Commission sent a clear message that Apple's anti-competitive and unfair practices have hurt consumers and developers for too long. We urge the Commission to make a quick decision in this case to protect consumers and restore fair competition on the iOS platform."

However, Apple's victory will be short-lived because a new EU technology law called the Digital Market Act (DMA), which prohibits both acts and fines up to 10 per cent of the company's global turnover, will apply from May.

As of CTOnews.com, Apple was up 0.05% before trading and Spotify was up 0.98%.

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