Apple hit with new antitrust complaint amid Big Tech scrutiny
Apple has been hit with a new antitrust complaint in Brussels in the latest blow to the tech giant as global regulators tighten their grip on Big Tech.
The joint complaint, filed on Wednesday, alleges that Apple’s App Store rules and device terms of service violate the new digital competition regime.
It has been filed by two civil rights groups accusing the iPhone maker of breaching the EU’s landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA),
The case, Reuters reported, was submitted to the European Commission, which has the power to impose fines of up to 10 per cent of a company’s global turnover for non-compliance.
If upheld, the complaint would worsen Apple’s regulatory troubles just months after the firm was fined €500m (£427m) in April for restricting music app developers from informing users about cheaper payment options outside its App Store.
An Apple spokesperson has argued that “the EC is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms that are confusing for developers and bad for users. Months ago, we notified the EC of our plans to roll out additional changes to the letter of credit requirements to provide more flexibility for developers but the Commission asked us not to.”
“And despite their constantly moving the goal posts, we have spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made dozens of changes our users haven’t asked for in order to comply with the DMA”, the firm added.
Digital dominance
The Digital Markets Act came into force earlier this year to curb the power of so-called “gatekeepers”, or large tech platforms that control key digital services such as app stores, browsers, and messaging tools.
The law sets out strict ‘do’s and don’ts’ for heavyweights like Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, designed to prevent them from favouring their own products or locking in users.
Apple’s App Store has long been at the centre of competition scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the US, the Department of Justice has accused the company of maintaining an unlawful monopoly over smartphones, while the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is also probing its commission structure and alleged restrictions on developers.
The latest EU complaint follows rising political and public concern about the dominance of Apple and Google in app marketplaces.
Earlier this year, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warned that Apple and Google’s 30 per cent commissions on in-app payments were costing UK developers between £1.5bn and £2.4bn annually.
The think tank urged the government to strengthen the CMA’s powers to “curb exploitative practices” and open up competition.
Apple and the rest of Big Tech under fire
But Apple is not alone in facing scrutiny.
In Washington, Google’s parent company Alphabet recently secured a partial reprieve after a federal judge ruled it would not be forced to sell its Chrome browser or Android operating system, despite earlier findings that it maintained a monopoly in online search through exclusive deals with Apple and Samsung.
The court nonetheless ordered Google to share search data with rivals and relax exclusivity clauses.
Markets reacted favourably, with Alphabet shares surging more than seven per cent. Analysts called the ruling a “regulatory bullet dodged”, suggesting other Big Tech players could also hope for lighter outcomes.
Still, the pressure on tech giants continues to mount.
Regulators across Europe, the US, and the UK are increasingly aligned in seeking to re-balance the digital economy, with app store fees and data access all at the forefront of enforcement efforts.