Spotify, 7 other firms call for crackdown on Apple

Audio streaming platform Spotify and seven other European companies are calling on the European Commission to take “swift and decisive action” against Apple over ‘anti-competitive’ and ‘unfair’ practices that have hampered their businesses. The companies calling on the European Commission to take action against against Apple come from different digital sectors, including publishing, audio streaming, web software, communication, and marketplace. “For years, Apple has imposed unfair restrictions on our businesses. These restrictions hamper our development and harm European consumers. They include the tying of the App Store to Apple’s proprietary payment system, with its excessive commissions for app developers; the creation of artificial obstacles that prevent our businesses from freely communicating with our customers; restrictions to developers’ access to data of their own users; and capricious changes to terms and conditions,” read the letter sent to European Commission. “Apple benefits from a monopoly position over its mobile ecosystem and extracts exorbitant rents from app developers who have no choice but to remain on the App Store to reach European consumers,” it added. Moreover, the letter said that time has come for urgent action from the European Union to end Apple’s ‘abusive’ behaviour. “We, therefore, call for a rapid decision in the competition case against Apple for its illegal, anti-competitive behaviour involving music streaming services,” the letter mentioned.