EU Closes Antitrust Probe Into Apple's Ebook App Store Rules
The European Commission has ended its antitrust investigation into Apple's App Store rules for ebook and audiobook apps, following the withdrawal of a complaint by an ebook distributor.
Originally launched in June 2020, the investigation was sparked by a complaint from Rakuten's Kobo subsidiary. Kobo had argued that Apple's mandatory 30% commission on App Store purchases made it virtually impossible to operate profitably while competing with Apple Books, which isn't subject to the same fee structure.
The probe examined Apple's requirement that developers use its in-app purchase system, and restrictions preventing developers from informing iPhone and iPad users about cheaper purchasing options outside the App Store.
Although this particular investigation has concluded, the Commission said that the closure does not indicate Apple's conduct complies with EU competition rules. Apple still faces scrutiny under both EU competition laws and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which designates Apple as a "gatekeeper" and requires changes to its App Store practices.
The ebook investigation was one of three parallel probes launched by the Commission in 2020. In March 2024, the Commission fined Apple over its music streaming app practices.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Popular Stories
Apple One allows you to subscribe to up to six Apple services for one discounted monthly price. There are three Apple One tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier.
Over the last month, the highest-end Apple One Premier plan has gained two additional perks.
Here is what Apple One Premier already included, for $37.95 per month:Apple Music
Apple TV+
Apple Arcade
Apple News+
Apple Fitness+...
Apple's all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air shares the same dimensions as the iPhone 17 Pro Max, with the only difference being in the thickness of the devices, according to the leaker Ice Universe.
Posting to their Weibo account, the Chinese leaker today claimed that the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max have identical body length, width, screen size, and bezels. "The only difference is the...
Apple announced the infamous 12-inch Retina MacBook a decade ago today, an experimental new Mac that was as controversial as it was revolutionary.
Apple unveiled the 12-inch MacBook on March 9, 2015, at the "Spring Forward" event in San Francisco, California. The event was primarily focused on the Apple Watch, which was being fully detailed ahead of its launch the following month, so the...
Apple is planning for a major design overhaul of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac interfaces with the introduction of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 later this year, reports Bloomberg. The update will "fundamentally change" the look of Apple's operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience.
Apple plans to update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
YouTuber iDeviceHelp on Friday posted a video that shows off mockups of Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 models that are purportedly based on "internal documents." We're sharing the video here since it was made in collaboration with leaker Majin Bu, who last month published similar iPhone 17 renders that were widely corroborated by separate leakers with links to Apple's Chinese supply chain....
Apple has increased the thickness of the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro Max compared to the current generation iPhone 16 Pro Max, claims the Chinese leaker known as Ice Universe.
Apple is said to have increased the depth of the iPhone 17 Pro Max to 8.725mm, up from 8.25mm on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which would be a 0.475mm difference in thickness. The increase "surely means a larger battery,"...
In a move that probably won't make headlines but should delight detail-oriented Mac users everywhere, Apple has quietly corrected a 26-year-old design inconsistency on its keyboards.
The Mute key, a staple on Mac keyboards since the PowerBook G3 'Lombard' debuted in 1999, has finally received a logical redesign on the new MacBook Air with M4 chip. As spotted by iCulture, the key now displays ...
Apple is delaying some of the Apple Intelligence Siri features that it expected to release in iOS 18, an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Daring Fireball.
Apple says that it is going to take longer than expected to roll out the more personalized Siri experience, and that these features will be rolled out "in the coming year.""Siri helps our users find what they need and get things...
