Government interference into matters of free commerce continue in Europe and the United States, according to the Sellers Research Group (that’s me).
More on the US soon, but, ass noted by MacRumors, Apple has been given until June 22 to bring the App Store into full compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) or face recurring financial penalties following a €500 million fine imposed in April.
On Tuesday, the European Commission published its complete 67-page ruling outlining Apple’s violations of the DMA’s anti-steering provisions. The report says Apple doesn’t comply with the DMA article that says the tech giant limited the ability of app developers distributing apps to its own App Store. It also says that Apple also charges a fee “in relation to steered transactions
that goes beyond the possible remuneration for the initial acquisition of that end user.”
Apple has until June 22 to rectify the issues or face “periodic penalty payments.” These ongoing fines would be determined based on the seriousness of the infringement and the company’s revenue. Apple must also pay the initial €500 million fine by July 23 or begin accruing interest.
In a statement provided to 9to5Mac following the publication of the full ruling, Apple said:
There is nothing in the 70-page decision released today that justifies the European Commission’s targeted actions against Apple, which threaten the privacy and security of our users in Europe and force us to give away our technology for free. Their decision and unprecedented fine came after the Commission continuously moved the goalposts on compliance, and repeatedly blocked Apple’s months-long efforts to implement a new solution. The decision is bad for innovation, bad for competition, bad for our products, and bad for users. While we appeal, we’ll continue engaging with the Commission to advocate on behalf of our European customers.
