News from around the world about Apple

Apple is an international company. As such, events are happening around the world daily regarding the tech giant. Following are the latest ….

In Russia

Russian lawmakers passed legislation on Thursday that would require U.S. tech giants such as Apple to open offices in Russia by January 2022 or face punitive measures, reports Reuters. This is part of a push by Russia to beef up what it calls internet “sovereignty,” the article adds.

“Websites that do not comply would be marked as being non-compliant on search engines, they could be excluded from search engine results, and banned from advertising in Russia and for Russians, the parliament said on its website,” notes Reuters.

In Germany

The Bundeskartellamt, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, has launched  proceedings against Apple regarding  claims of anti-competitive behavior related to the App Store, its products, and other services, according to a press release.

“We will now examine whether with its proprietary operating system iOS, Apple has created a digital ecosystem around its iPhone that extends across several markets. Apple produces tablets, computers and wearables and provides a host of device-related services,” said Andreas Mundt, president of Bundeskartellamt. “In addition to manufacturing various hardware products, the tech company also offers the ‌App Store‌, iCloud, AppleCare, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+ as well as other services as part of its services business. Besides assessing the company’s position in these areas, we will, among other aspects, examine its extensive integration across several market levels, the magnitude of its technological and financial resources and its access to data. A main focus of the investigations will be on the operation of the ‌App Store‌ as it enables Apple in many ways to influence the business activities of third parties.”

In Ireland

In an interview with CNBC, Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe will push back against a plan by finance ministers from the G7 group of nations to ensure a minimum global corporation tax rate of 15%.

Currently, Ireland has a corporation tax rate of 12.5%. Donohoe says Ireland wants to negotiate a “compromise” on its corporate tax rate. “I do hope an agreement can be reached that does recognize the role of legitimate tax competition for smaller and medium-sized economies,” he said.

The accompanying image is courtesy of Market Realist.