Apple Charged by Brussels With Abusing Its Market Power in Mobile Payments

Brussels regulators have charged Apple with breaking EU competition law by abusing its dominant position in mobile payments to limit rivals' access to contactless technology. From a report: Antitrust investigators are concerned that the US tech group is preventing competitors from accessing "tap and go" chips or near-field communication (NFC) to benefit its own Apple Pay system, the European Commission said in a statement on Monday. Margrethe Vestager, the EU's executive vice-president in charge of competition policy, said Brussels had "indications that Apple restricted third-party access to key technology necessary to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple's devices." She added that the commission had "preliminarily found that Apple may have restricted competition, to the benefit of its own solution Apple Pay." If confirmed, "such a conduct would be illegal under our competition rules," Vestager said. The company could face fines worth up to 10 per cent of global turnover if the charges are upheld.

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