APPLE’S EU TROUBLES

The European Commission said Friday that Apple has abused its dominant position for music streaming apps through its App Store.

The commission’s statement cites app developers’ mandatory use of Apple’s in-app purchase system that charges developers up to 30 percent commission fees on all subscriptions bought through the app, as well as Apple’s “anti-steering provisions” which limit app developers from informing users of alternative purchasing possibilities outside of apps.

“We can now do our shopping, access news, music or movies via apps instead of visiting websites. Our preliminary finding is that Apple is a gatekeeper to users of iPhones and iPads via the App Store,” Margrethe Vestager, the commission’s executive vice president in charge of antitrust enforcement, said in a statement.

Apple said the commission’s “argument on Spotify’s behalf is the opposite of fair competition.”