EU Regulators Find New Evidence in Apple Antitrust Case

European Union antitrust regulators said they have found new evidence in an investigation into Apple prompted by streaming music rival Spotify.

Regulators are hoping the new evidence will speed up the case, but that does not mean that Apple will face additional charges, Reuters reported Wednesday (July 20), citing unnamed sources. The company was not available for comment.

Last year, the European Commission informed Apple that its App Store rules, which require developers to use the company’s in-app payment system and keep them from informing users of other purchasing options, hinders competition in the music streaming sector.

Read more: Apple Faces More EU Antitrust Charges Over Music Streaming Practices

Those requirements have been criticized by regulators in several other countries. The Netherlands has levied millions of dollars in fines against Apple this year after it failed to comply with a 2021 order to adjust the conditions in its App Store to let dating app providers offer alternative payment methods.

The commission began investigating Apple when Spotify complained the iPhone maker unfairly blocked its restricted competitors to its own music streaming service Apple Music on iPhones.

The competition watchdog presented its charges in a “statement of objections” or charge sheet. The commission also considered sending a supplementary statement of objections, according to the Reuters report.

Apple could pay a fine of up to 10% of its global turnover if found guilty of violating EU antitrust rules, the report stated.

Earlier this week, Apple was the subject of a class-action lawsuit in federal court accusing the company of using Apple Pay to illegally profit from payment card issuers, taking in $1 billion a year in fees in violation of antitrust rules.

See more: Class-Action Lawsuit Accuses Apple Pay of $1B a Year in Illegal Fees

The suit also accuses the tech giant of monopolizing the market for tap and pay mobile wallets on iOS. By blocking competitors from this market, the complaint said, issuers must pay fees they wouldn’t have paid in a more competitive market.

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