Staff Reporter
CALIFORNIAN tech giant Apple has been accused by Brussels of breaching European Union internet competition laws, which are supposed to allow smaller firms to compete and ensure that consumers have a wide range of alternatives on the company’s App Store.
The European Commission has made the accusations after having launched an investigation back in March. Its preliminary findings have been sent to Apple already, which the company will be able to appeal.
“For too long Apple has been squeezing out innovative companies – denying consumers new opportunities and choices,” wrote Thierry Breton, the European commissioner responsible for digital markets, on social network X (formerly Twitter).
The European Commission has concluded that Apple is not complying with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as it was preventing ‘app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content’.
Read more: Apple and Amazon fined €194 million for illegal collusion in Spain
Apple could face fines of up to 10% of its global revenues if it fails to comply, meaning it may have to cough up billions of euros.
The company has 12 months to comply with the European Commission’s findings before it is fined.
The allegations mark the first time that a tech company has been targeted under the DMA, which was introduced to ensure that giants such as Google, Amazon and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, compete fairly.
Apple already introduced changes to its software, including the App Store, back in January in a bid to comply with European competition rules.
On Friday, the company announced that it will delay its new artificial intelligence features on its iPhones in the EU because of the uncertainty created by the new tech rules, the Financial Times reported.
