On Tuesday, Apple found itself the target of two EU antitrust investigations into its App Store and Apple Pay.
The European Commission said one investigation would look into the mandatory use of Apple’s proprietary in-app purchase system and rules preventing app developers from informing iPhone and iPad users of other payment options.
The second case focuses on Apple’s terms and conditions regarding how Apple Pay should be used in merchants’ apps and websites, and also that Apple Pay is the only mobile payment service allowed to use the “tap and go” functionality on iPhones.
Apple was critical of the EU investigations.
“It’s disappointing the European Commission is advancing baseless complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free ride, and don’t want to play by the same rules as everyone else,” the iPhone maker said in a statement.
“We don’t think that’s right — we want to maintain a level playing field where anyone with determination and a great idea can succeed.”
MacDailyNews Take: No, third-parties cannot have access to the NFC chip. It’s a security issue. Duh. And, no, Spotify cannot have a free ride Apple’s App Store.
“This boils down to the fact that Spotify wants to use the platform that Apple built and maintains at great expense for free.” – MacDailyNews, March 13, 2019
Spotify is a money-losing enterprise that cannot compete and has already been eclipsed by Apple Music in the world’s No.1 market for recorded music, the United States of America. Seeing the writing on the wall, Spotify has run whining to the EU like a little baby crying for mommy.
BTW: You’d have to be stupid to subscribe to Spotify when it has millions fewer tracks than Apple Music for the same price. Don’t be stupid. If you’re still subscribing to Spotify, it’s past time for you to cancel it and upgrade to Apple Music. (See also: How to move your Spotify playlists to Apple Music.)
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]