Apple faces charges over Apple Pay following EU antitrust complaint – TechCrunch
TechCrunchSep 09, 2022
EU: Apple May Have Breached Anti-Trust Regulations on Phone Payment Systems
Image copyright: Anadolu Agency [via Al Jazeera]
The Facts
The European Commission has accused Apple of abusing its market dominance and blocking rivals from challenging its "pay-as-you-go" payment system for iPhones, possibly breaching the bloc's anti-trust regulations.
In presenting a preliminary conclusion to an investigation on Mon., Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, said Apple may have restricted other companies from developing technology that can rival Apple Pay on the company's devices.
The Spin
Narrative A
While the US has failed to pass any meaningful legislation to crack down on Big Tech, the EU – in taking on Apple and recently passing the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act – has shown that it's willing to lead the way in reigning in these giant corporations.
Narrative B
While the EU's aims are well-intentioned, its requirement that Apple further open up its payment systems for third-party developers could undermine the privacy and security of the iPhone in service of some other aim. The EU needs to examine what levels of risk they're willing to tolerate in return for greater competition.