Apple aims to fend off EU antitrust charges in Spotify probe - report
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is set for a face-off with EU antitrust regulators, noting that it does not need to make any additional changes to its App Store after the company saw formal charges over its treatment of music streaming competitors such as Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT), Bloomberg News reported.
Ahead of a hearing slated for Friday in Brussels, Apple insists that the EU wrongly accused the comany of illegal restrcitions on the likes of Spotify which hinder developers from driving users away from the App Store.
The iPhone maker believes it has already addressed any potential competition concerns over the past two years with changes that form a fair balance between the interests of Apple and app developers, the report added citing a person familiar with Appple's thinking.
Apple saw revised objections from the European Commission (EC) in February, as per which the agency had narrowed its investigation.
In a Feb 28 release the EC said that it no longer took a position as to the legality of the 'IAP obligation' for the purposes of this antitrust investigation but focuses on the contractual restrictions that Apple imposed on app developers which prevent them from informing iPhone and iPad users of alternative music subscription options at lower prices outside of the app and to effectively choose those.
IAP obligation, as per the EC's preliminary view, was that Apple abused its dominant position by imposing its own in-app purchase payment technology on music streaming app developers (IAP obligation).
The Bloomberg report added that Spotify said that Apple's anti-steering rules hinder it and other developers "from telling consumers about any deals or promotions through their own apps."
Spotify said that the rules still exist and Apple's supposed changes "changed nothing at all and are just for show," according to the report.
In May, it was reported that Apple had a different hearing in a second EU antitrust investigation linked to the company's tap-to-pay technology. In that case, the EC alleged that Apple abused its control over mobile wallets by limiting how third-party firms can provide services on the iPhone.
After that, regulators did ask several questions to retailers, searching other payment solutions across mobile devices, the report added.
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