EU Plans to Hit Apple With Antitrust Charges Over Apple Pay
The European Commission is planning to charge Apple with anticompetitive behavior with regards to Apple Pay, since it is the only payment service that can use the iPhone's Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip, Reuters reports.
EU antitrust investigator Margrethe Vestager has been investigating Apple Pay since June last year, but the European Commission has since centered its focus on the NFC chip alone, according to individuals familiar with the matter speaking to Reuters.
The NFC chip in the iPhone and Apple Watch enables tap-and-go contactless payments, but Apple Pay is the only payment service that can use this hardware. On Android devices, multiple payment services can offer contactless payments using the NFC chip, but on the iPhone, no rival services are allowed to leverage the NFC hardware.
The Commission's preliminary concerns also reportedly include Apple's terms and conditions on how Apple Pay should be used in merchants' apps and on websites. Concerns may have been raised by Apple Pay's wide reach and better user experience on the iPhone compared to other services, and accelerated by the growth of contactless payments during the global health crisis.
The EU competition enforcer is now believed to be preparing a statement of objections to charge Apple with anticompetitive conduct, which is expected to be sent to the company next year. The antitrust charge could put Apple at risk of a large fine and force it to open the NFC chip to rival payment systems in Europe. Similar investigations have also been opened in Australia.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Popular Stories
Leaker Sonny Dickson is back today with a new dummy unit image showing all four iPhone 16 Pro color variants, including the rose gold or "bronze" unit that replaces Blue Titanium in the existing iPhone 15 Pro models. The iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to come in black, white or silver, gray or "Natural Titanium," and a rose or rose gold color replacing Blue Titanium, according to Apple...
Multiple rumors have suggested that the iPhone 16 models are going to have an all-new button that's designed to make it easier to capture photos when the devices are held in landscape mode. Apple calls the button the Capture Button internally, and it is going to be one of the most advanced buttons that's been introduced to date with support for multiple gestures and the ability to respond to ...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series in the fall, and a possible September 10 announcement date has been floated this year, which means we are just one month away from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design...
Apple's iPhone 16 series is expected to debut in September 2024. This release follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. While the exact date has yet to be officially confirmed, the day of Tuesday, September 10 has been rumored as a possible announcement date, and September has traditionally been the month when Apple unveils its latest smartphone innovations. ...
Apple is moving forward with its project to develop a tabletop robotic device, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The device would feature a large iPad-like display mounted on a "thin robotic arm" that would allow the display to tilt and up and down and rotate a full 360º, and it would serve as a "smart home command center," a...
It's almost September, but Apple still has multiple new product launches planned for 2024. New iPhone 16 models and Apple Watches are coming in September, and we're also going to get at least three Mac updates with M4 chips this year, according to rumors. Here's what's on the horizon. MacBook Pro Apple plans to refresh both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4 chips. The ...
T-Mobile was fined $60 million by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) for negligence surrounding data breaches, reports Reuters. CFIUS penalized T-Mobile for failing to prevent or disclose unauthorized access to sensitive customer data. When T-Mobile merged with Sprint, it signed a national security agreement with CFIUS, which is what led to the fine earlier this year....
