EU: Apple May Have Breached Anti-Trust Regulations on Phone Payment Systems

MAY 2 2022·Updated MAY 4 2022

Story

Image credit: Anadolu Agency [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

The European Commission has accused Apple of abusing its market dominance and blocking rivals from challenging its "pay-as-you-go" payment system for iPhones, possibly breaching the bloc's anti-trust regulations.
wapo
In presenting a preliminary conclusion to an investigation on Mon., Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, said Apple may have restricted other companies from developing technology that can rival Apple Pay on the company's devices.
Business Insider
"Apple may have restricted competition, to the benefit of its own solution, Apple Pay," Vestager said in a statement. "If confirmed, such a conduct would be illegal under our competition rules."
wsj
Apple now has a chance to respond to the allegations. In a statement to the media, the tech giant said its payment platform is only one of many options available to European consumers, adding that many other payment options – from PayPal to MobilePay, Payconiq, and Swish – have found success on iOS.
Al Jazeera
If found guilty, the EU can levy fines of up to 10% of Apple's global revenue – over $386B in 2021 – though any fines imposed are likely to be reduced on appeal.
wapo

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

While the US has failed to pass any meaningful legislation to crack down on Big Tech, the EU – in taking on Apple and recently passing the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act – has shown that it's willing to lead the way in reigning in these giant corporations.

wapo

Narrative B

While the EU's aims are well-intentioned, its requirement that Apple further open up its payment systems for third-party developers could undermine the privacy and security of the iPhone in service of some other aim. The EU needs to examine what levels of risk they're willing to tolerate in return for greater competition.