The EU’s investigation into Apple Pay is “quite advanced” according to the bloc’s antitrust chief. Margrethe Vestager told Bloomberg News that the case is “is something that we’re pushing forward.”
EU Following Epic Trial ‘Very Closely’
Ms. Vestager’s comments came as Apple’s trial with Epic Games entered its final (for now?) week. She said that the EU is “following that very closely” (Epic also has lodged a complaint to the EU,) but the difference in U.S. and EU laws and systems means “we would have to do our own thing no matter the outcome of the U.S. casework.”
Talking about the range of probes into big tech firms that the EU has launched, Ms. Vestager said they “they have called in the cavalry” in a bid to “fundamentally change behavior.” She added:
Legislation also takes a long time and a lot can happen in the market in the meantime if we don’t investigate.
Apple Pay Ongoing Concern
EU concerns with Apple Pay have been rumbling for a while. As far back as November 2019, Ms. Vestager told Web Summit Lisbon that had “many concerns” with Apple’s rules that do not allow for rival payment systems on its devices. The EU launched investigations into both Apple Pay and the App Store in June 2020 and it may ultimately demand that rival payment providers be allowed to operate on devices like iPhones.