On 30 April 2021, the European Commission announced that it has issued Apple with a Statement of Objections, setting out its preliminary view that it has distorted competition in the music streaming market and abused its dominant position for the distribution of music streaming apps through the Apple App Store.
The announcement follows an investigation triggered by a complaint lodged by music streaming player Spotify in 2019. The complaint related to rules imposed on App Store developers which required commission of up to 30% to be paid on all payments for apps, and all payments made within apps, which were required to be done via Apple's payment mechanism.
The announcement is the first time that the European Commission has issued a Statement of Objections against Apple.
For more details, the European Commission press release can be found here.
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