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Apple Music could lead to further charges in European Union antitrust case

New evidence is being levied in the EU antitrust case against Apple.

Morgan Shaver

April 11, 2022 11:00 AM

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As reported by outlets like Reuters, Apple is potentially looking at yet another European Union antitrust charge. This new charge comes in addition to 2021’s antitrust ruling against Apple’s App Store that came about following a complaint filed against the company by Spotify.

The investigation was spurred by accusations that Apple was practicing anti-competitive behavior in the music streaming market by forcing developers to use its in-app payment system, while also preventing developers from informing users of other payment system options.

In preventing developers from using third-party payment systems, Apple is in violation of the forthcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA). As an example, under Article 6.1(c) of the DMA, Apple is required to open iPhones to app sideloading which includes third-party app stores, in addition to supporting alternate payment systems.

With that being said, it’ll be a while before we start to see the fallout of this investigation, with the updated Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules not going into effect until 2024. This was further emphasized in a statement from lawyer Damien Geradin at Geradin Partners who’s currently advising a number of app developers in cases against Apple.

The latest developments in the case against Apple come from what the EU calls a “supplementary statement of objections,” as reported by Reuters. In short, investigators have new evidence to levy against Apple. Neither the Commission nor Apple have made a statement on the matter, so it’s unclear at the moment just what this new evidence consists of.

However, if the case against Apple is successful, the company could potentially face fines of as much as 10 percent of their global turnover. And, as noted by Reuters, Apple is also facing other EU antitrust issues with the outlet remarking, “Apple’s practices in e-books and its Apple Pay are also in the EU antitrust crosshairs.”

For more on this, be sure to check out the full report from Reuters. And for the latest on Apple as a whole, we also recommend reading up on Apple reportedly cutting iPhone SE production by 20 percent, and how the company is rumored to be working on a subscription plan for iPhones among other hardware.

Morgan Shaver

Senior Editor

Morgan is a writer from the frozen wastelands of Maine who enjoys metal music, kpop, horror, and indie games. They're also a Tetris fanatic who's fiercely competitive in games like Tetris 99... and all games in general. But mostly Tetris. You can follow Morgan on Twitter @Author_MShaver.