Oliver Haslam·

Apple Faces A New Charge In Its Spotify-Inspired EU Antitrust Case

Apple is facing another new antitrust charge after the EU added a new one to an existing case that was kicked off by music streamer Spotify a year ago.

Reuters reports that EU officials have added a new charge based on Spotify’s original claim that Apple is acting unfairly by requiring apps use its App Store in-app purchase mechanism.

Spotify and others like it are not allowed to offer their own payment systems or tell users they exist — and that’s something that the EU finds troublesome in a world where Apple has its own Apple Music app available to compete with the likes of Spotify.

The European Commission last year accused the iPhone maker of distorting competition in the music streaming market via restrictive rules for its App Store that force developers to use its own in-app payment system and prevent them from informing users of other purchasing options.

Now, an additional charge has been levied and more could come.

Apple faces an additional EU antitrust charge in the coming weeks in an investigation triggered by a complaint from Spotify, a person familiar with the matter said, a sign that EU enforcers are strengthening their case against the U.S. company.

Extra charges set out in a so-called supplementary statement of objections are usually issued to companies when the EU competition enforcer has gathered new evidence or has modified some elements to boost its case.

Apple is already facing scrutiny over its App Store payments practices and has been fined millions of dollars by Dutch authorities in relation to in-app purchases and dating apps. Officials told Apple it must allow dating apps to offer payments outside of the App Store, something the company hasn’t been particularly quick to do.

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