Apple
Apple is facing antitrust charges in the EU over a Spotify complaint
The EU is likely strengthening its case for when it inevitably goes to court.
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The European Union (EU) has been investigating Apple’s App Store practices for several years as the result of a complaint from Spotify. And, just as regulators began finalizing charges, the EU has revealed that there will be an additional antitrust charge included.
Earlier today, Reuters reported that Apple would be facing an additional anti-compete charge as part of the EU’s investigation. This typically happens when the EU finds new information to help strengthen its case.
The Spotify antitrust complaint stems from Apple’s system of charging a 30 percent commission fee on all in-app charges for apps in the App Store. The European Commission says that this is anti-competitive practice since Apple Music is not subject to these commission charges.
READ MORE: Spotify is preparing to take over the audiobook industry
From here, we’re waiting on official word from the EU to hear what the exact charges are. Chances are that the EU will formally present Apple with antitrust charges, including fines and requested policy changes. But Apple still has options.
Apple will likely deny all of the charges and policy changes that the EU requests. That means that the next step after the EU files charges will be to take the case to court.
As we know, court proceedings of this nature tend to take a long time. So it’ll likely be a while before we reach an outcome on this Apple antitrust situation.
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