LONDON (AP) — The U.S. government's massive antitrust case against Apple will likely take years to resolve — but the iPhone maker's troubles with European regulators are It gives customers a glimpse of what changes they will see in the future.
The U.S. lawsuit seeks to prevent Apple from infringing technology that competes with its apps in areas such as streaming, messaging and digital payments. The Justice Department also wants to prevent tech giants from including language in their contracts with developers, accessory makers and consumers that would allow them to gain or maintain a monopoly.
These are similar themes to the long-standing dispute between Apple and the European Commission, the European Union's top executive and antitrust enforcement agency.
The EU's antitrust watchdog aims to stop tech companies from cornering the digital market at the same time it has filed multiple antitrust lawsuits accusing Apple of violating EU competition laws in 27 countries. It imposes strict digital rules.
Brussels' efforts will soon begin to impact the way the company does business and the experience of iPhone users in Europe. And this change could hint at what's to come for his Apple users in the US, at least if the Justice Department has its way.
Let's take a closer look here:
music streaming
Music streaming users typically couldn't pay for their Spotify subscriptions directly through the iPhone app. I couldn't even receive email updates about subscription prices, promotions, and offers for Spotify and other music streaming services. That's because Apple has strict restrictions on apps that compete with its Apple Music service.
But after Spotify filed a complaint with the European Union, antitrust regulators launched a multi-year investigation that resulted in an order for Apple to stop such conduct and an effort to prevent the company from doing so again. It imposed a hefty fine of 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion).
Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission's head of competition, said Apple's actions were “unlawful” and that “hundreds of people who do not have free choice about where, how and at what price they buy their music streaming subscriptions” said Apple's actions were “unlawful”. “This has affected millions of European consumers.”
payment
Apple has attempted to resolve a second EU antitrust lawsuit by proposing to allow third-party mobile wallet and payment service providers to access tap-and-go payment functionality on its iOS operating system. .
Apple has offered concessions to the European Commission, the European Union's enforcement arm and top antitrust enforcement body, after accusing the company of abusing its dominant position by restricting access to mobile payment technology in 2022. Ta.
The committee was looking into whether Apple Pay's rules require online shops to make it their preferred or default option, effectively crowding out competing payment systems. It was also looking into concerns that the iPhone's contactless payment feature was limiting access to competing payment systems.
The committee is still considering this proposal. The authority is seeking feedback from “stakeholders” on the proposal before making a decision on the matter.
app store
Apple has long maintained that there can only be one app marketplace on the iPhone and other iOS devices: its own. However, a series of far-reaching new EU regulations that recently came into effect have forced the company to open up its so-called “walled garden” and allow third-party app stores to compete.
The EU's Digital Markets Law is an extensive rulebook that targets Big Tech's “gatekeeper” companies and sets out a series of prohibitions they must abide by. One of its goals is to dismantle the closed technology ecosystem that locks consumers into the products and services of one company.
Under the DMA, tech companies cannot prevent consumers from connecting with companies outside of their platforms. That has forced Apple to allow Europeans to download iPhone apps from a store not run by the American tech giant. Apple has long resisted this.
In a sign of this reluctance, EU regulators said they want to question Apple over accusations that it blocked video game company Epic Games from launching its own app store. But Apple has since reversed course, paving the way for Fortnite maker Epic to launch a rival app store.
—-
Associated Press journalist Barbara Ortutai contributed to this article.
