Apple has released a big report on the dangers of third-party stores and how they will affect the ecosystem of mobile devices. The company hopes to influence the decision on the monopoly case and the payment rules of the App Store.
How it all started
In the spring of 2019, Spotify filed a complaint against Apple in the European Court of Justice. The Swedish company did not like the 30% commission on purchases in the App Store. Spotify believes that Apple is deliberately suppressing Apple Music competitors.
The European Commission drew attention to this case and began its investigation in the summer of the same year.
Further, in 2020, the EU Antimonopoly Commission prepared a Law on Digital Markets (Digital Markets Act). According to it, technology companies that violate the rules of free competition will be fined 10% of their total income. However, the law has not yet been adopted.
The following news was received already in 2021: antimonopoly Commissioner Margrethe Vestager made accusations against Apple. The European Commission believes that the App Store rules violate EU law.
This was followed by a statement by the Dutch authorities that Apple are monopolists and should change the payment rules of the store. The company, in turn, has prepared an appeal.
Now Apple, in addition to the protracted litigation with Epic Games, must settle the charges from the EU.
What happened now
On October 13, Apple released a report “Creating a Reliable Ecosystem for millions of applications”, in which it consistently criticized the Law on Digital Markets.
On the pages of the 28-page report, the company described why the iOS ecosystem should remain closed.
Some theses:
- this will harm the privacy and security of users;malicious software will cause damage not only to buyers of devices, but also to companies, developers and advertisers;
- attackers will be able to create a fake App Store and steal money and personal data through it;
- the ability to download applications from third-party sources will simplify attacks on iOS devices.
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Apple even cited Android as an example: due to the open ecosystem, there is 15-47 times more malicious software in Google’s OS than on iOS.
However, not everyone was convinced by the company’s arguments. One of the lawyers said that Apple’s cyber threat statements divert attention from the App Store’s payment rules: “Alternative payment methods, such as Stripe, Adyen or Paypal, are as secure as Apple’s In-App system.”
It is not yet known what the decision of the European Commission will be in the Apple case, but if the antitrust law is approved in 2023, the company will have to change its store policy.