Spotify Calls Apple’s App Store Restrictions ‘An Abusive Power Grab’

At an App Store antitrust hearing that took place today, Spotify and Match Group (the company behind Tinder) accused Apple of abusing its ‌App Store‌ powers to to disadvantage rival services, reports Bloomberg. Spotify chief Legal Officer Horacio Gutierrez said that Apple’s rules are “nothing more than an abusive power grab.” “Apple abuses its dominant […]

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Apple Agrees to Provide Executive to Testify At Upcoming App Store Senate Hearing

Apple has agreed to provide its chief compliance officer, Kyle Andeer, to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel for a hearing on anti-competitive practices for mobile app stores on April 21, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Earlier this week, Apple refused to provide an executive for the hearing around anti-competitive practices on online stores. In […]

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U.S. Senators Urge Apple to Reconsider Decision Not to Testify in Upcoming App Store Hearing

Apple has decided not to testify in a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on antitrust issues related to mobile App Stores, and U.S. senators have called Apple’s refusal “unacceptable,” reports Reuters. In a letter addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook, senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee urged Apple to reconsider the decision because a “full and […]

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Arizona Bill That Would Let Developers Avoid Apple’s In-App Purchase Rules Scrapped After Intense Lobbying

Arizona’s proposed state bill “HB2005”, that would provide developers with an alternative to Google and Apple’s in-app purchase options by allowing developers to use their own payment solutions within apps, appears to have been abandoned after intense lobbying (via The Verge). The bill was advanced through the Arizona House Committee and the Arizona House of […]

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Epic Games Files Complaint to Support UK Antitrust Watchdog’s Apple Probe

Epic Games today said it had filed a complaint to the UK’s antitrust watchdog in support of the government department’s ongoing investigation into Apple’s alleged anti-competitive behavior. In September 2020, the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an initial inquiry into developers’ complaints about Apple’s App Store and so-called “anti-competitive” practices. The CMA […]

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French Regulator to Probe Apple’s Upcoming Anti-Tracking Feature

Apple will face a French antitrust probe into its upcoming App Tracking Transparency feature, following a complaint from advertisers in the country that the planned changes are anticompetitive. Starting in iOS 14.5, Apple will require apps to get opt-in permission from users to collect their random advertising identifier, which advertisers use to deliver personalized ads […]

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French Watchdog Investigating Apple’s Personalized Advertising Practices After Allegations of Hypocrisy

Apple is to be investigated by France’s data-protection watchdog following allegations that the company’s personalized advertising feature violates European Union data protection and e-privacy rules (via Bloomberg). The National Commission on Informatics and Liberty, known as “CNIL,” is France’s regulator that oversees privacy and data. CNIL is now examining antitrust allegations from France Digitale, a […]

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Apple’s Personalized Ads System Targeted in Privacy Complaint to French Data Regulator

Apple’s advertising system for monetizing its apps and services is the target of a new complaint in France that has been brought against it by a lobby group representing startups and venture capital firms (via Bloomberg). Submitted on Tuesday to France’s National Data Protection Commission (CNIL), the complaint focuses on an Apple feature called Personalized […]

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EU Prepares to Charge Apple in Antitrust Dispute With Spotify

EU regulators are in the process of finalizing a charge sheet against Apple, initiated by an antitrust complaint from Spotify (via Reuters). In 2019, Spotify filed a complaint with the European Commission, alleging that Apple enforces App Store rules that “purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience,” accusing the […]

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UK Antitrust Watchdog to Investigate Apple’s App Store Policies [Updated]

Today the United Kingdom’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) launched an official investigation into the distribution of apps on iOS and iPadOS devices in the U.K. and the terms and conditions governing the platform. In September of last year, the authority launched an initial inquiry into developers’ complaints about Apple’s App Store and so-called “anti-competitive” […]

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Judge in Apple v. Epic Games Case Wants In-Person Trial Starting on May 3

Lawyers for Epic Games and Apple today participated in a management conference with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez to hammer out the details of an upcoming bench trial, which is set to take place on May 3. Apple was aiming to get the trial delayed until a later date, but the judge denied the request and said […]

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Mark Zuckerberg Reportedly Told Staff Facebook Needs to ‘Inflict Pain’ on Apple Over Privacy Dispute

Apple and Facebook have been in a very public spat over the course of the last few months as Apple dials up its pro-privacy stance. The two companies have long had tension, more recently however Facebook is taking shots at an upcoming iOS and iPadOS feature that will require apps and data companies such as […]

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FTC Accuses Facebook of Social Media Monopoly, Calls for Divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp

The United States Federal Trade Commission today teamed up 46 states, the District of Columbia, and the territory of Guam to sue Facebook for maintaining an illegal social networking monopoly through years of anticompetitive conduct. Facebook is accused of engaging in a “systematic strategy” to eliminate threats to its monopoly, which included the 2012 acquisition […]

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Italy Fines Apple $12 Million for Misleading iPhone Water Resistance Claims

Apple has been slapped with a 10 million euro ($12 million) fine by Italy’s antitrust watchdog for unfair commercial practices related to its iPhone marketing in the country. Specifically, Apple is being charged for misleading claims in promotional messages about how deep and how long iPhones can be submerged in water without being damaged. In […]

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App Store Fee Cut Attracts Criticism From Major Developers Like Spotify and Epic

A number of industry players, including Spotify, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, and Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson, have today criticized Apple’s move to launch a new App Store Small Business Program that will halve App Store fees for small business owners and independent developers (via The Verge). After Apple announced the new program, Spotify […]

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Google Reportedly Pays Apple $8-12 Billion Per Year to be Default iOS Search Engine

The United States Justice Department is targeting a lucrative deal between Apple and Google as part of one of the U.S. government’s largest antitrust cases, reports The New York Times. On Tuesday, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, claiming the Mountain View-based company used anticompetitive and exclusionary practices in the search and […]

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U.S. Government Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google for Search Engine Dominance

The United States Justice Department today filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, claiming the Mountain View-based company has used anticompetitive and exclusionary practices in the search and advertising markets to maintain an unlawful monopoly. “Today, millions of Americans rely on the Internet and online platforms for their daily lives. Competition in this industry is vitally […]

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Apple Reportedly on EU ‘Hit List’ of Big Tech Companies Targeted for Regulation

EU regulators are taking aim at up to 20 big tech companies, including Apple, as part of a “hit list” that seeks to curb their market influence, reports The Financial Times. The plans reportedly involve the demand that larger tech companies face tougher regulations than smaller competitors, data sharing with rivals, and increased transparency on […]

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