Apple Antitrust

By MacRumors Staff
Our latest coverage of antitrust lawsuits or investigations involving Apple.

Apple Antitrust Articles

App Store vs EU Feature 2

EU Fines Apple $2 Billion for Anti-Competitive Behavior Toward Spotify

Monday March 4, 2024 3:18 am PST by
The European Commission today fined Apple €1.8 billion ($1.95 billion) for anti-competitive conduct against rival music streaming services. In a response published on its website, Apple fiercely attacked the Commission's decision, as well as Spotify's behavior. The fine comes as the conclusion to a long-running investigation by the EU, triggered by a complaint from Spotify, into Apple's...
iOS App Store General Feature JoeBlue

Apple Met With DOJ Antitrust Chief in Bid to Head Off Antitrust Lawsuit

Wednesday February 28, 2024 2:07 am PST by
Apple representatives met with the U.S. Justice Department last week in a last ditch effort to persuade the agency not to file an antitrust suit against the company, according to Bloomberg. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report states that Apple and its lawyers met with Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, who will have the final say on whether to file a suit. Since...
European Commisssion

Apple's Decision to Disable Web Apps Attracts Scrutiny in EU

Monday February 26, 2024 6:07 am PST by
The European Commission is considering investigating Apple's move to disable Home Screen web apps in the EU, the Financial Times reports. Following the release of the second beta version of iOS 17.4, it emerged that Apple had restricted the functionality of iOS web apps in the EU. Web apps can no longer launch from the ‌Home Screen‌ in their own top-level window that takes up the entire...
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Apple to Be Fined Over $500 Million in EU Music Streaming Probe

Monday February 19, 2024 2:17 am PST by
Apple is set to be hit with a €500 million ($538 million) fine for allegedly breaking EU law over access to music streaming services, according to a Financial Times report. The focus of the European Commission's investigation has been Apple's policy of preventing streaming music apps from informing iPhone and iPad users within the app that lower subscription prices are available when signing ...
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Apple's iMessage Avoids EU's Digital Markets Act Regulation

Tuesday February 13, 2024 3:07 am PST by
Apple's iMessage will avoid regulation requiring interoperability with other messaging platforms under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), following the conclusion of an investigation by the regulator (via Bloomberg). The probe concluded that the iMessage platform and Microsoft's Bing do not hold a dominant enough position to be brought under the DMA's strict rules for services provided by...
Kardia Band apple watch

Apple Won't Face AliveCor Antitrust Lawsuit Over Apple Watch Heart Rate Technology

Tuesday February 6, 2024 2:31 pm PST by
An antitrust lawsuit that AliveCor filed against Apple back in 2021 will not proceed, with the judge overseeing the case today filing a summary judgment in Apple's favor. The full ruling is under seal as of now due to confidentiality requests from Apple and AliveCor, but the filing makes it clear that the case went in Apple's favor and the Cupertino company was not found to have engaged in...
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Apple Offers to Open NFC Payment Technology to Third-Party Developers in Europe

Saturday January 20, 2024 3:11 am PST by
Apple has proposed opening its NFC payment technology to third-party developers in Europe, allowing direct rivals to Apple Pay to operate on the iPhone for the first time. Historically, the use of Apple's NFC chip in iPhones and Apple Watches for payments has been exclusively utilized by ‌Apple Pay‌, limiting the ability of banks and other financial services to offer their own contactless...
iOS App Store General Feature Desaturated

App Store to Be 'Split in Two' Ahead of EU iPhone Sideloading Deadline

Monday January 15, 2024 7:57 am PST by
Apple is preparing to split the App Store "in two" in the coming weeks ahead of European Union requirements that will force Apple to enable app sideloading in the region, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple is gearing up to make changes to the ‌App Store‌ in the EU to comply with the region's impending Digital...
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Tim Cook Meets EU Antitrust Chief Ahead of iPhone App Sideloading Deadline

Friday January 12, 2024 5:10 am PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday met the European Union's antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, at Apple Park amid a series of disputes between the organizations. The meeting focused on European competition policy and digital regulation. On X (formerly Twitter), Vestager explained that she stressed Apple's impending obligation to allow users to install third-party app stores and sideload apps...
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Apple Could Soon Face 'Sweeping' U.S. Antitrust Lawsuit

Friday January 5, 2024 11:12 am PST by
The United States Justice Department is in the "late stages" of an antitrust investigation into Apple that could soon lead to an antitrust lawsuit, reports The New York Times. The DoJ could be ready to file a "sweeping" antitrust case in the first half of 2024, with the agency considering how Apple's control over hardware and software locks consumers into the Apple ecosystem and makes it...
tim cook europe privacy

Apple CEO Tim Cook to Meet EU Antitrust Chief Next Week

Friday January 5, 2024 5:29 am PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook will meet the European Union's antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, next week amid a series of disputes with the organization (via Reuters). Vestager is also set to meet the chief executives of Alphabet, Broadcom, and Nvidia, as well as senior executives from OpenAI. The meetings will take place in San Francisco and Palo Alto on Thursday and Friday next week, and will...
iOS App Store General Feature Desaturated

Japan Preparing EU-Style Law to Force Apple to Allow App Sideloading and More

Wednesday December 27, 2023 2:11 am PST by
Japan is preparing antitrust legislation to force Apple to allow app sideloading and alternative payment methods for in-app purchases, Nikkei Asia reports. The plans by Japan's Fair Trade Commission focus on combating Apple and Google's dominance in app stores and payments, search, browsers, and operating systems. The regulation could encompass a wide range of changes to Apple's practices,...
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Department of Justice and FTC Looking Into Beeper iMessage Controversy

Friday December 22, 2023 5:35 am PST by
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are intensifying their investigations into Apple's alleged anti-competitive practices following the recent blocking of the iMessage for Android app Beeper Mini, the New York Times reports. Following calls from a bipartisan group of senators for a DOJ investigation into the matter, Beeper founder Eric Migicovsky...
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Apple Declines to Appeal UK Ruling That Revives Antitrust Probe Into Browser and Cloud Gaming Restrictions

Tuesday December 19, 2023 4:48 am PST by
Apple has decided to not appeal a UK court ruling that revives a comprehensive antitrust investigation into its dominance in mobile browsers and cloud gaming, meaning it will commence in January (via Open Web Advocacy). In late November, London's Court of Appeal effectively reversed a previous verdict that had halted the probe, reinforcing the authority of the UK's Competition and Markets...
European Commisssion

Apple's iMessage May Dodge EU Regulatory Demand for Interoperability

Wednesday December 6, 2023 4:36 am PST by
Apple's iMessage chat service may dodge EU regulatory demands for platform interoperability after all. Bloomberg reports that an investigation by the bloc's antitrust watchdog has tentatively concluded that the chat service is not popular enough with business users to warrant being subject to the new rules. The EU has been working on legislation under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that would ...
app store blue banner uk fixed

UK Revives Antitrust Probe Into Apple's Browser and Cloud Gaming Restrictions

Thursday November 30, 2023 8:07 am PST by
Apple faces a renewed comprehensive investigation into its dominance in mobile browsers and cloud gaming following a ruling by London's Court of Appeal (via Bloomberg). The court's decision effectively reverses a previous verdict that had halted the probe, reinforcing the authority of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In November 2022, the CMA launched an investigation into...
European Commisssion

Apple Files Legal Challenge Against EU Law as Sideloading Requirement Looms

Friday November 17, 2023 6:09 am PST by
Apple today filed a legal challenge against the European Union's Digital Markets Act ahead of the impending requirement to enable app sideloading on its devices (via Reuters). The Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into effect on November 1, 2022, requires "gatekeeper" companies to open up their services and platforms to other companies and developers. The DMA will have a significant...
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Apple Argued Safari Is Three Different Browsers to Avoid Regulation

Saturday November 4, 2023 7:44 am PDT by
Apple recently claimed that Safari is three different browsers in effort to avoid regulation in the European Union (via The Register). The claim came as part of a response to the European Union in August, just before the European Commission designated many of Apple's iOS, App Store, and Safari as gatekeeper platforms. This classification means that Apple now has to ensure that these...
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EU Asks iMessage Users and Rivals If Service Should Be Regulated

Tuesday October 10, 2023 3:57 am PDT by
EU antitrust regulators have asked Apple's users and rivals to rate the importance of Apple's iMessage and Microsoft's Bing versus competing services, reports Reuters. According to people familiar with the matter, the European Commission sent out the questionnaires earlier this month, asking if there was anything specific to iMessage and Microsoft's Bing, Edge, and Microsoft Advertising that ...
European Commisssion

EU Chief Calls on Apple CEO Tim Cook to Open Hardware and Software Ecosystem

Tuesday September 26, 2023 8:01 am PDT by
EU industry chief Thierry Breton today publicly called on Apple CEO Tim Cook to open the company's ecosystem of hardware and software to rivals (via Reuters). Following an in-person meeting with Cook earlier today in Brussels, Belgium, Breton told Reuters:The next job for Apple and other Big Tech, under the DMA (Digital Markets Act) is to open up its gates to competitors. Be it the...