Apple Accused Of Abuse Of Market Domination In Italy And Europe

JAKARTA - Italy's competition watchdog, AGCM, announced on Thursday 11 May that it has opened an investigation into American tech giant Apple on suspicion of abusing its dominant position in the app market.

According to the watchdog, Apple imposed a "more restrictive privacy policy" on third-party app developers compared to the policies it has implemented on itself since April 2021.

"In addition, the developer of external applications benefits in terms of the quality of data provided by Apple," AGCM said in a statement.

According to EU competition law, companies found guilty of abusing market dominance can be subject to fines of up to 10% of annual turnover.

According to the Italian watchdog, users of non-Apple apps have a clearer and stronger look to block data tracking. Meanwhile, third-party app developers get less complete information about the success of their advertising campaign.

"Discriminatory behavior allegedly committed by Apple could lead to a decrease in advertising revenue for third-party advertisers, which benefits Apple's commercial division," AGCM said.

"This can encourage competitors from the application development and distribution market, benefiting Apple's internal apps, mobile devices, and its iOS operating system," he added.

Apple and other tech giants have been repeatedly examined by European regulators. On Wednesday, May 10, the European Commission said it was seeking more information about Apple's mobile payment system as part of a case of business competition against the iPhone maker.