The European Union is launching an Apple Music probe after Spotify accuses Apple of antitrust since it owns both Apple Music and the App Store (via TechCrunch).
[Spotify CEO: Relationship With Apple ‘Completely Unsustainable’]
Apple Music Probe
The probe comes from the European Commission (EC) which is the European Union’s regulatory body. Spotify filed a complaint with the EC in March, saying Apple “tilted the playing field” because it owns iOS, the App Store, and Apple Music.
Apple operates a platform that, for over a billion people around the world, is the gateway to the internet. Apple is both the owner of the iOS platform and the App Store—and a competitor to services like Spotify. In theory, this is fine. But in Apple’s case, they continue to give themselves an unfair advantage at every turn.
The EU is well known for taking on tech giants, fining Google €1.49 billion (US$1.67 billion) in March over antitrust violations in search ads.
[Time For a Spotify-Apple ‘Conscious Uncoupling’]
Does Spotify work on iOS devices? If so then they have no complaint.