European Union regulators on Monday accused Apple of violating new technical rules by not fully allowing its app store to direct consumers elsewhere.
In a series of preliminary findings, the EU found the company to be the first to breach the Digital Markets Act, a sweeping set of rules aimed at preventing big tech companies from stifling competition. It requires app developers to allow users to find cheaper alternatives outside app stores, a practice known as “steering.”
“Incentives are key to making app developers less reliant on gatekeeper app stores and helping consumers become aware of better offers,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU executive vice-president for competition policy, wrote.
Apple said it would continue to listen and respond to the European Commission's comments.
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“We are confident that our plans comply with the law and estimate that under the new terms we have created, more than 99 percent of developers will pay the same or lower fees to Apple,” the company said in a statement.
Experts say the European Commission's charges indicate regulators are serious about pressing Apple to open up its app store to substantial competition. Gene Kimmelman, who served as deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department early in the Biden administration, said Apple's current pricing structure would not be enough to satisfy regulators.
“European regulators have made it clear that Apple must overhaul and potentially eliminate most of the fees it charges developers and those trying to set up competitive app stores,” Kimmelman said.
The EU challenged some of the policies Apple imposes on app developers, such as banning them from providing pricing information or promoting certain offers within their apps, as well as the rules governing linking customers to other apps and certain fees that Apple charges.
The accusations come four months after the EU launched an investigation focused on steering rules by Apple and Alphabet.
Apple said in a statement that it had made several changes in recent months after receiving feedback from developers and European regulators. The company said that all developers doing business in the EU through its app store would have access to its new features, including the ability to direct users to the web “at very competitive rates.”
The EU also announced that it had opened a new investigation into the terms of Apple's contracts with developers, specifically the €0.50 (roughly 54 cents) fee that developers must pay for each installed app, and Apple's membership program for developers, as well as the “multi-step user journey” required to download and install alternative app stores on iPhones.
Shira Ovide contributed to this report.
