The tech giant is also facing a third non-compliance investigation in relation to its App Store.
Apple breaches the Digital Markets Law (‘DMA’) of the European Union (EU) with its rules on the App Store, as stated the European Comission in the preliminary conclusions sent to the company this Monday. According to the Community Executive, the technology giant prevents to the developers Of applications freely direct consumers toward alternative content channels.
Under the ‘DMA’ (EU competition rules that came into force in March this year), developers who distribute their apps through the Apple App Store must be able to report for free to their clients alternative possibilities cheaper purchasing options, direct them to those offers and allow them to make purchases.
Las preliminary conclusions of the Commission suggest that none of the company’s commercial conditions allow developers to freely target their customers. Additionally, in most commercial terms available to app developers, Apple only allows targeting via “links“, which means that application developers can include a link in their application that redirects the customer to a web page where the customer can enter into a contract.
Under the ‘DMA’, Apple is authorized to receive, through the App Store, a commission to make it easier for developers to initial capture of a new client. However, the Commission said that the fees charged by Apple they go beyond what is strictly necessary for said remuneration.
“Our preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allowaddressingwhich is key to ensuring that app developers are less dependent on gatekeeper app stores and that consumers are aware of better deals,” Margrethe Vestager, the Commission’s executive vice president in charge of policy, said in a statement. of competence.
Apple now has the opportunity to examine the Commission’s conclusions and respond in writing. If the Commission’s views are confirmed, it may adopt a non-compliance decision in a period of 12 months from the opening of the procedure on March 25.
Third investigation for non-compliance
Furthermore, the Commission has also opened a third non-compliance investigation against the big tech company over fears that the company’s new contractual requirements for third-party developers and app stores (including Apple’s new ‘Core Technology Fee’) do not meet its obligations.
Among other things, it will check whether Apple’s ‘Core Technology Fee’, for which third-party application developers must pay a fee of 0.50 euros per installed application, complies with the ‘DMA’. In a statement to Euronews, an Apple spokesperson said the company has already “conducted a series of changes to comply with the DMA”.
“We are sure that our plan follows the law, and we estimate that more than 99% of developers would pay the same or less in fees to Apple under the new commercial terms we have created. All developers doing business in the EU on the App Store have the opportunity to use the capabilities we have introduced, including the ability to direct app users to the web to complete purchases at a very competitive price. As we have been doing regularly, we will continue listening to the European Commission and collaborating with it“declared the company spokesperson.
In addition to Apple, the Commission designated five other ‘gatekeepers’ under the ‘DMA’: Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft. In March, the Executive opened non-compliance investigations of the standards of Alphabet on targeting in Google Play and self-preference in Google Search, from the rules of Apple about targeting in the App Store and Safari’s choice screen, and about the “payment or consent model” of Meta. In case of violation, companies face fines of up to 10% of the gatekeeper’s total worldwide turnover.
