Apple has ‘very serious’ non-compliance issues with key EU digital law, Margrethe Vestager says
European Union antitrust cops have identified several “very serious” issues with Apple’s business practices that are potentially noncompliant with the bloc’s digital business law, competition chief Margrethe Vestager warned Tuesday.
Apple has faced ongoing scrutiny of its App Store practices in Europe — with EU officials investigating whether it has fully complied with rules requiring it to allow third-party developers to “steer” customers to cheaper product offers outside their app stores.
Vestager revealed that the European Commission is close to revealing the results of its investigation under the Digital Markets Act — which took effect in March and aims to rein in the behavior of tech titans designated as the internet’s “gatekeepers.”
“We have a number of Apple issues. I find them very serious. I was very surprised that we would have such suspicions of Apple being non-compliant,” Vestager said in an interview with CNBC.
″[Apple is] very important because a lot of good business happens through the App Store, happens through payment mechanisms, so of course, even though you know I can say this is not what was expected of such a company, of course we will enforce exactly with the same dedication and with the same top priority as with any other business,” Vestager added.
Vestager did not provide any specifics about the findings of the investigation, which was first announced in March. However, she said they would be revealed “hopefully soon.”
Apple representatives did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.
The remarks surfaced just days after the Financial Times reported that the European Commission was preparing formal charges against Apple for alleged anticompetitive behavior in its App Store.
The charges would mark the first time that EU regulators have gone after a Big Tech firm for violations of the DMA.
Apple could still avoid charges by making concessions to appease regulators, the report said.
If the company is found to have violated the law, it could face fines of up to 5% of its average daily worldwide turnover, or a little more than $1 billion per day, according to the FT.
The European Commission first announced in March that Apple was under investigation. The panel has separate probes targeting other tech firms, including Google and Meta.
When the investigation was first announced, EU officials said they were looking at whether Apple’s compliance plan, which includes charging a “core technology fee” to maintain access to its App Store, was “defeating the purpose” of the DMA.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Apple dodged a sizable fine in a separate EU antitrust case alleging it had stifled competition to boost its contactless “Apple Pay” service by agreeing to make concessions, the Financial Times reported.