Investigation from the European Union into Apple Pay and App Store

Technology giants are subjected to various investigations by authorized institutions from time to time due to competition violations. These investigations are usually carried out to protect competition, and if found guilty, companies are given very serious fines. If today European Unionannounced that it has launched two serious investigations against the US-based technology giant Apple, and this investigation is AppleIt looks like it could give 's headache.

Two different investigations launched by the European Union as of today, App Store And Apple Pay includes services. The European Union, which took action upon the complaints, is considering the possibility that Apple may create unfair competition. Authorities say Apple did not do anything like this within the scope of the investigation. won't do Even though they express what they think, they want to make this situation official with an investigation.

Apple's App Store investigation became a hot topic after complaints from Spotify and Rakuten

Margrethe Vestager, who is the head of the investigation opened by the European Union against Apple, made various statements regarding Apple. your complaints and that they will evaluate these complaints. Within the scope of this investigation, Vestager examined the company's internal rules and how it approached other developers. they will detect expresses. So, in what aspects will Apple be subject to examination within the scope of this investigation?

Recently, the world's most popular online music platform Spotify, complained about Apple. According to Spotify, Apple was using the App Store to direct users to Apple Music rather than Spotify. Additionally, a company called Rakuten filed a Spotify-like complaint and claimed that books sold through Apple's App Store were banned. 30 percent He announced that he had cut the commission. Both companies think that Apple is causing unfair competition with these moves.

The consequences of the Apple Pay investigation may be more severe

The second investigation launched by the European Union against Apple is the company's payment system. Apple Pay related to. We can say that this investigation is a little more serious than the App Store. The reason for this is that the German government recently announced that the NFC feature on Apple's smart watches and phones is only for Apple Pay. absence having made the necessary decision. This situation returned as an investigation against Apple.

To take a deeper look at the Apple Pay investigation, Apple is NFC It provides full support for its feature only in in-house services. In other words, third-party financial institutions cannot actively use the NFC feature in Apple products. According to the German government This shouldn't happen and it violates EU law.

Vestager also spoke about the second investigation against Apple. Mobile and contactless payment services across Europe coronavirus Stating that it has become widespread during the pandemic, Vestager states that Apple should not turn its back on other contactless payment solutions in the market. In other words, the EU says that Apple may be innocent of the App Store investigation, but it is not so innocent about Apple Pay. may not happen states.

Statement from Apple on the subject

An Apple spokesperson made statements regarding the European Union's investigation. Playing the European Union's game by the same rules don't want to Apple spokesperson said that it was annoying to launch such an investigation upon complaints from several companies and stated that the truth of the allegations does not reflect However, he emphasizes that they will gladly report their work within the scope of the investigation.