The European Commission confirms the investigation against Apple a few hours ago and they are involved in the App Store and the payment service through NFC, Apple Pay. In this case the two formal antitrust investigations against Apple would be related to non-compliance with Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
It is not the first time that Apple has been investigated by the European Commission and in this case it is the turn of the NFC payment service for violating one of the Union's competition rules by not allowing this system to be used by third parties, that is, by limiting the service and the store where we buy the applications. In this second case, the EU focuses on the fact that no shopping alternatives are offered; according to the EU, having a single, unique and exclusive store without the option of having other stores where buying apps is a problem for users.
In this sense, the Cupertino firm has been in the spotlight for some time due to the percentage that it charges developers of 30% for the use of IAP, something that gave a lot to talk about months ago. In any case, what is currently different is that it focuses on the only store that Apple users have to buy their apps. Personally speaking, this single shopping site -the App Store- has its good part and its bad part, but in general the good part wins. Regarding the opening or not of the NFC, it seems to me that it is something that influences the security of the devices just like the App Store, so the fewer front doors we leave open to possible attacks, the better.
In any case, the European Commission goes its way and investigates the possible illegal practices of Apple in this regard, including a better option, quality, innovation and competitive prices ”.
Apple Pay is the only mobile payment system that can access the NFC chip of the iPhoneThe investigation will therefore focus on the "alleged restrictions on access to Apple Pay for specific products of its rivals on iOS and iPadOS smart mobile devices", as well as their possible impact. If these practices are confirmed, articles 101 and 102 of the TFEU would be violated. The Commission will give priority to this research And remember that starting the process does not prejudge the result.
