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European Union (EU) regulators on June 24 opened a new investigation into Apple’s support for alternative iOS marketplaces in Europe under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), adding that the App Store’s “steering” policies violate the DMA meant to encourage competition. Margrethe Vestager, who heads competition policy in Europe, said their preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow steering.
“Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers,” she said in a statement. The EU regulators said they are concerned as Apple’s new business model makes it too hard for app developers to operate as alternative marketplaces and reach their end users on iOS.
Of Apple’s three “sets of business terms” that govern the company’s relationship with app developers, the Commission said none allow developers to freely steer users away from the App Store to make a purchase. “We will look into Apple’s new business model – the commercial terms Apple imposes on app developers who want to reach end users on the iOS platform,” said the regulators.
First preliminary findings
The regulators also said that they have adopted their first preliminary findings in a case of non-compliance. “And it is again about Apple. About the many ways in which their new terms fall short of the DMA requirements regarding steering users to options outside the Apple App Store. As they stand, we think that these new terms do not allow app developers to communicate freely with their end users, and to conclude contracts with them,” they added. If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, it could issue a non-compliance decision by March 2025, a year from when the investigation began, which could lead to fines for Apple.
Anti-trust allegations
Apple is still facing a number of other antitrust allegations that has been leveled against the company in recent months internationally as well as at home in the U.S. The Department of Justice announced an antitrust suit against Apple earlier this year, alleging the company has used anticompetitive methods to keep its monopoly hold on the U.S. smartphone market, and the European Union fined Apple days before the DMA went into effect over its App Store rules for music steamers.
