The European Commission has announced that it has opened two investigations on Apple concerning respectively the payment system through mobile devices Apple Pay and some clauses of the agreement with the developers of external apps.
It is not the first time that the Commission, and in particular the Competition department headed by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, have dealt with Apple and the largest US technology companies: two years ago Apple received a 13 billion euro fine on charges of having circumvented the payment of taxes in Europe, while in the last mandate as Commissioner Vestager he also repeatedly targeted Google and Facebook.
In a press release, Apple dismissed all allegations and added: “It is disappointing that the European Commission is making unfounded complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free spin, and don't want to play by the same rules as all. others”.
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The Commission explained that it had opened the investigation because it fears that Apple is exercising a monopoly: both by hindering the use of the NFC (Near Field Communication) sensor of iPhones for systems other than Apple Pay, and by effectively forcing external developers to use a Apple's native system for purchases made within applications, on which it then imposes a 30 percent commission.
The duration of the investigation can last months or years, and the outcome also depends on the cooperation of the companies involved. Apple has currently challenged the 13 billion fine and appealed the Commission's decision to the European Union Court of Justice.
# EUAntitrust Commission opens investigation into Apple practices regarding Apple Payhttps: //t.co/iggSq0adrk pic.twitter.com/kiKIUL4yzl
– EU Competition (@EU_Competition) June 16, 2020
Last year, during the approval process for his second term, Vestager presented some kind of program in which he kept Internet companies as his primary focus. Among the proposals were the removal of protection systems that exempt large platforms from liability for the content posted by users, new mechanisms to make Internet companies pay taxes in Europe without circumventing them with various types of tax ploys. and more in-depth investigations into the advantages that companies exploit to block the way for their competitors.
