Apple Antitrust

The European Commission is set to close its year-long investigation into Apple's default browser choice screen on iPhones in the EU after the company made changes to comply with the requirements in the Digital Markets Act (via Reuters). The Commission launched a non-compliance investigation in March last year under the DMA, concerned that Apple's design of the web browser choice screen could ...

Apple on Tuesday lost its appeal in Germany's Federal Court of Justice against a regulatory assessment that subjects the company to heightened antitrust scrutiny in the country (via Reuters). The German court ruled that the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) was correct in its April 2023 decision to classify Apple under the "extended abuse control" regime of the country's Competition Act. The...

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday issued its final verdict on the state of the country's mobile browser market, and the regulator has concluded that Apple's policies are largely responsible for hampering competition and innovation. The CMA's independent inquiry group's investigation found that Apple's requirement for all iOS browsers to use its WebKit engine is...

Apple Fellow Phil Schiller testified in court on Monday that he initially opposed the 27% commission Apple now charges on purchases made outside the App Store, citing compliance risks and potential developer backlash (via AP News). Schiller, who oversees the App Store, said he had concerns that the fee would create an "antagonistic relationship" between Apple and developers, and worried...

Apple is fighting to defend its multi-billion dollar search engine deal with Google as Google is prosecuted for antitrust violations, and so far, the court isn't making it easy. Last week, Apple filed a motion for an emergency stay that would give the Cupertino company time to intervene in the lawsuit, but the judge overseeing the case denied Apple's motion [PDF] and won't hold off on moving...

Apple wants to defend its multi-billion dollar search engine deal with Google, which is in danger because Google has been found guilty of violating antitrust law. Apple has asked the court handling Google's lawsuit with the U.S. government for an emergency stay [PDF], so that Apple has time to intervene and plead its case before a remedy is decided on. The U.S. Department of Justice sued...

UK regulators on Thursday launched an investigation into Apple and Google's smartphone ecosystems to assess whether they have "strategic market status" (SMS), a designation that if imposed would subject the companies to specific conduct requirements set by the Competition and Markets authority (CMA) to improve competition. The investigation will look at the companies' operating systems, app...

A Brazilian federal court has overturned an antitrust ruling that would have required Apple to allow third-party payment systems in the App Store within 20 days. The initial ruling, issued on November 26, came in response to a 2022 complaint from Latin American e-commerce platform MercadoLibre. The regulator had ordered Apple to remove restrictions on alternative payment systems and allow...

Brazil's antitrust regulator has ordered Apple to remove App Store restrictions on third-party payment systems and allow developers to market alternative payment options for in-app purchases. Apple has 20 days to comply or face daily fines of $43,000. The ruling by the Council for Economic Defense (Cade) comes in response to a 2022 complaint filed by MercadoLibre, Latin America's largest...

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...

Apple's restrictions on mobile browsers are limiting innovation and holding back new features that could benefit iPhone users, according to provisional findings published today by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In its report, the CMA's independent inquiry group determined that Apple's Safari browser policies prevent competing browsers from implementing certain features,...

Apple is facing an almost £3 billion ($3.78 billion) lawsuit after British consumer group Which? on Thursday alleged that the company breached competition law by locking millions of its customers out of its iCloud service and charging them "rip-off prices." Apple users receive 5GB of free storage to back up photos, messages, and other content, and are then encouraged to pay for the service...

A Chinese court has agreed to hear a lawsuit against Apple from Beijing Bodyreader, a developer seeking around $420,000 in damages after their children's posture correction app was removed from the App Store in 2020. Bloomberg reports that the case – the first of its kind to be heard in Beijing's intellectual property court – bears similarities to Epic Games' 2021 lawsuit against Apple....

The European Commission plans to fine Apple for not adequately complying with Digital Markets Act (DMA) requirements for the App Store, reports Bloomberg. Regulators apparently believe that Apple did not implement changes that allowed developers to steer users to cheaper prices outside of the ‌App Store‌. Back in June, the EU said that Apple was in breach of the DMA due to its anti-steering...

The European Union today issued a warning to Apple, demanding that the tech giant open up its iOS operating system to rival companies and third-party developers or potentially face significant fines. The move is part of the EU's efforts to enforce the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to ensure fair competition in the digital marketplace. The European Commission has initiated two...

Update: Apple told MacRumors that Open Web Advocacy's allegation that Apple is misleading the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is inaccurate. Apple says it told the CMA that the design of the identified browser setting was changed in a recent software update. The design was apparently never intended to discourage users from setting third-party browsers as the default. Apple faces...

The UK's Competition and Market Authority (CMA) today announced it had closed an investigation into Apple's App Store policies, as it expects to consider the concerns under a new digital markets competition regime which is expected to come into force later this year. Originally initiated in March 2021, the CMA's investigation set out to determine whether or not Apple has a dominant position...

Spotify says it has received approval from Apple to display pricing information in its iOS app for users in the European Union, following its years-long legal struggle with the company. Spotify says that from Wednesday, iPhone users in the EU will be informed of pricing information in the app and the fact that they can go to the company's website to purchase items directly. "EU iPhone...

India's Competition Commission has recalled two investigative reports accusing Apple of antitrust violations after the company raised concerns about the disclosure of confidential commercial information (via Reuters). The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has withdrawn two key reports that alleged Apple breached local competition laws. The recall, which is highly unusual, comes after the ...

Apple today filed a motion to dismiss its ongoing lawsuit with the United States Department of Justice, a standard step in the litigation process. In its motion to dismiss, Apple argues that the government's complaint has not demonstrated anticompetitive conduct, anticompetitive effect that harms consumers, or that Apple is a monopoly power in the U.S. smartphone market. The government needs to...