The European Union’s competition watchdog closed an investigation into how Apple treats rival audiobook developers in its Book Store, reports The Washington Journal (a subscription is required to read the article).
The European Commission, the EU’s antitrust investigative body, says it’s dropped a problem that began in 2020 after a rival developer withdrew its complaint. Apple hasn’t commented.
“The Commission will continue to monitor business practices in the European tech sector, including those of Apple,” an EC spokesperson in a statement to The Washington Journal, “both under the DMA [Digital Markets Act] and competition rules.”
In 2020 Rakuten’s Kobo subsidiary, Kobo, alleged, that Apple’s commission rate is anti-competitive when it also promotes its own Apple Books service. Kobo, is a Canadian company that sells e-books, audiobooks, e-readers and tablet computers. It’s headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and is a subsidiary of the Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten.
