European Commission sues Apple over Apple Pay

by time news

Apple has restricted access to NFC (Near-Field Communication) technology used on smartphones for contactless payments, according to a statement from the European Commission. The EC believes that by doing so the company abused its dominant position and violated the established rules of competition.

“We have evidence that Apple has restricted third-party access to key technologies needed to develop competitive mobile wallets on Apple devices,” European Commissioner for Competition and Digital Economy Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. For example, other contactless payment services cannot be installed on the iPhone.

The EC concluded that “Apple’s dominance in the mobile wallet market for its iOS operating system limits competition by reserving access to NFC technology for Apple Pay.” If the suspicions are confirmed, it will be a violation of Art. 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position.

According to Vestager, consumers should benefit from a “competitive and innovative payment environment.” This cannot be ensured in conditions when one of the actors in the market abuses its position, the statement emphasizes.

Earlier, the EU announced a bill on digital markets, according to which Apple will have to allow third-party applications to be installed on the iPhone, bypassing the App Store. Then the head of Apple Tim Cook said that the new requirement could expose users to the risks of protecting their data.

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