UK watchdog to investigate Apple for App Store and Safari antitrust violations
The UK's antitrust regulator is expected to begin an investigation over Apple and Google for possibly holding back innovation in smartphone browsers and duopoly in mobile ecosystems. These accusations aren't new, as the Competition Marketing Authority has already stated in November that it wanted to investigate these big tech firms.
According to Reuters, the UK watchdog will start an investigation into these two areas this month and, after about six months, launch an investigation into a third area. Each of them will be completed within a statutory time limit of nine months. If the CMA understands that Apple and Google hold a duopoly, these antitrust allegations could result in solutions similar to those available in the European Union with the Digital Markets Act.
In the block, Apple had to open the App Store to third-party marketplaces. The company also had to offer third-party payment systems and allow users to choose their default apps beforehand, such as their preferred browser. In the near future, more default apps could be switched for other options.
The CMA says the new regime would "seek to maximize the attractiveness of Britain to tech companies while also ensuring choice and competitive prices." In the meantime, Apple will continue to roll out its latest features at the same pace as it usually does.
For example, Cupertino has been delaying some functions for European markets due to the DMA. As a result, Apple Intelligence will only be available for European users in April with the iOS 18.4 update. Another feature that was delayed was iPhone Mirroring. While this function was released with macOS Sequoia to all markets, European users had to wait an additional month until macOS 15.1 was made available.
While Apple claims these delays are important to ensure the company can meet the DMA's requirements, it's also a way to make customers angry about these changes with the European Commission—even though they could be angry at Apple as well.
BGR will let you know as these investigations start and whether Apple is formally accused of antitrust by the UK's watchdog.
The post UK watchdog to investigate Apple for App Store and Safari antitrust violations appeared first on BGR.
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UK watchdog to investigate Apple for App Store and Safari antitrust violations originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 7 Jan 2025 at 07:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.