European Union Investigates Alleged Apple Cheating

JAKARTA - The European Union (EU) is conducting a massive investigation on Apple for allegedly cheating on its platform. The EU Commission will carry out an antitrust investigation into the company for its App Store and Apple Pay products, which critics say have stifled competition.

Citing The Verge, Wednesday June 17, the first investigation will investigate whether Apple has violated EU competition regulations with its App Store policies, following complaints from Spotify and Rakuten that Apple took 30 percent of their subscription fees and tricked the sale of ebooks through the App Store.

"We need to make sure that Apple's rules don't distort competition in markets where Apple competes with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books. I have therefore decided to take a closer look at Apple's App Store rules and their compliance with EU competition rules, "said the head of the EU's antitrust division, Margrethe Vestager.

Spotify claims that Apple is using the App Store to stifle innovation and limit consumer choices for its own Apple Music service. However, Apple denies the allegations and says Spotify is trying to leverage its presence on the App Store without making any contribution to the online store.

Apple also argues that the majority of Spotify users on its Apple iOS platform are using the free version, so the music application does not contribute to the company's revenue.

"Apple's anti-competitive behavior deliberately harms competitors, creates an uneven playing field, and deprives consumers of meaningful choices for too long. We welcome the European Commission's decision to investigate Apple formally, and hope they will act with urgency to ensure Fair competition on the iOS platform for all participants in the digital economy, "explained Spotify.

Likewise, Rakuten filed a similar complaint with the EU earlier this year, alleging that Apple is not competitive to take a 30 percent commission on ebooks sold through the App Store while promoting its own Apple Books service.

In this case, many suspect that Apple is restricting application developers and notifying iPhone and iPad users to buy its company's products, arguing that this is mandatory use of Apple's own in-app purchase system.

Apple said it welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate that it gives customers access to the best app or service of their choice, without breaking any rules.

Furthermore, Vestager is also investigating Apple's practices on their digital payment service, Apple Pay, which is also suspected of fraud.

"It appears that Apple is setting the conditions for how Apple Pay should be used in merchant applications and websites. It is important that Apple's actions do not deny consumers taking advantage of new payment technologies, including better choice, quality, innovation, and competitive pricing," said Vestager.

"I therefore decided to take a closer look at Apple's practices regarding Apple Pay and its impact on competition," he added.

In response to this, Apple again argued that digital payments are. "New product and service breakthroughs (in some of the world's most competitive markets, but companies) follow the law in everything we do and embrace competition at every stage."

The investigation into Apple Pay comes months after German lawmakers voted in favor of legislation that could force Apple to allow other companies to access its phones' NFC chips. Apple was shocked by the draft law, claiming that the move could undermine user trust, data protection and the security of financial information.