On Tuesday 16 June, the European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether Apple's conduct in connection with Apple Pay violates the European Union's competition rules.
The Commission's investigation will focus on Apple’s terms, conditions and other measures for integration of Apple Pay into merchants’ apps and websites on iPhones and iPads, Apple’s restriction of access to Near Field Communication (NFC) ‘tap and go’ functionality on iPhones for payments in shops, and alleged denials of access to Apple Pay.
The investigation will involve Apple's conduct, as set out above, in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Margrethe Vestager, the Executive Vice-President responsible for competition policy, said that it “appears that Apple sets the conditions on how Apple Pay should be used in merchants' apps and websites”. The company also reserves the ‘tap and go’ functionality of the iPhone to Apple Pay. “It is important that Apple's measures do not deny consumers the benefits of new payment technologies, including better choice, quality, innovation and competitive prices”, said Vestager.
Apple Pay is Apple's proprietary mobile payment solution on iPhones and iPads, and is used to make payments in merchants’ apps and websites as well as in physical shops.
Following a preliminary investigation, the Commission has concerns that Apple's terms, conditions, and other measures related to the integration of Apple Pay for the purchase of goods and services in merchants’ apps and websites on iOS/iPadOS devices may distort competition and reduce choice and innovation.
In addition, Apple Pay is the only mobile payment solution that may access NFC ‘tap and go’ technology embedded in iOS mobile devices to make payments in shops.
The investigation will also focus on alleged restrictions on access to Apple Pay for specific competitors’ products on iOS and iPadOS smart mobile devices.
The Commission will investigate the possible impact of Apple's practices on competition in the provision of mobile payment solutions.
If proven, the practices under investigation may breach EU competition rules on anti-competitive agreements between companies (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) and/or on the abuse of a dominant position (Article 102 TFEU).
The Commission has also opened formal antitrust investigations to assess whether Apple's rules for app developers on distributing apps via the App Store violate European Union competition rules.
The investigations will focus in particular on the mandatory use of Apple's proprietary integrated purchasing system and restrictions on the ability of developers to inform iPhone and iPad users of cheaper purchasing options outside the applications.
The investigations follow separate complaints by Spotify and an e-book/audio book distributor regarding the impact of the App Store rules on competition in music streaming and e-book/audio book distribution.
Vestager stated that it appears that Apple has been given a ‘gatekeeper’ role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple's popular devices. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)