European Union: Released EC statement of objections regarding Apple's anti-competitive App Store rules

On 30 April 2021, the European Commission (EC) released a statement of objection to Apple for their anti-competitive App Store rules in the music streaming sector. The inhibition of app developers in their choice of payment method represents an abuse of dominance by Apple and therefore a violation of EU antitrust laws, the EC states. Furthermore, Apple only lets users download apps via the AppStore. These restrictions lead to app developers having to pay a commission fee of up to 30% with every subscription. These anti-steering provisions are problematic since they potentially further strengthen Apple's dominant position in the market of app stores. Furthermore, Apple's mandatory commission fee leads to higher prices for consumers which leads to a distortion of competition. Apple now has the opportunity to respond to these allegations.