Big Tech again in the sights of the European Commission. The accusations, this time, are against Apple and its digital payment service Apple Pay, with the Brussels regulators hypothesizing an abuse of dominant position by the Cupertino giant.
EU investigation launched in 2020
The news had been in the air for a few days, with the Financial Times having anticipated European moves a little. And now the official communication has arrived, with the Commission having sent Apple all the details of this investigation taken in early 2020.
“We have indications that Apple has limited third-party access to the key technology needed to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple devices,” said Commission President Margrethe Vestager, adding that it is clearly written in the communication sent to the company. that “Apple may have limited competition, to the benefit of its Apple Pay solution.”
Cupertino’s response
While from Cupertino they immediately replied that “Apple Pay is just one of the many options available to European consumers to make payments and has guaranteed equal access to NFC by setting industry-leading standards for privacy and security”.
The game, however, has only just begun. And for Apple it could close with a very heavy fine (up to 10% of global turnover, if the allegations are confirmed), as well as with the imposition of opening its mobile payment system to competitors. A particularly delicate situation, which is part of the whole European effort to limit Big Tech’s dominance. The Digital Markets Act and the Digital Service Act belong to this design. And they have created quite a few discontent in the American tech industry.