AP, May 3 (Editor Shi Zhengcheng) On Monday, local time, the official website of the European Commission issued a statement saying that the preliminary determination Apple The company's Apple Pay is suspected of abusing its dominant position in the market to gain a competitive advantage in its own business.
(Source: EU official website) The European Commission said that it had issued a Statement of Objections to Apple, saying that the company had limited the competition in the mobile wallet market in iOS by restricting applications from accessing the standard technology of contactless payment (NFC).
Vestager, the head of EU antitrust affairs, said in the statement that we have signs that Apple restricts third-party access to key technologies necessary for developing mobile wallet solutions on Apple devices.
Although there is a "preliminary determination" in the wording, today's statement means that the EU has formally taken a series of procedures to accuse Apple Pay of monopoly. Apple will have the opportunity to organize a formal response. Even if the EU cannot be persuaded to give up the accusation, the subsequent hearing and legal proceedings can continue for a long time.
For example, the EU once punished Apple for paying 13 billion euros in taxes in 2016, and the related lawsuit has not ended today. In the process, Apple even obtained a favorable ruling from the European Court of Justice.
There is no only antitrust dispute
And Google Like American Internet giants, the EU's antitrust investigation of Apple is not only one. In addition to Apple Pay, the EU also accused Apple Music of abusing its dominant market position to impede competition last year.
According to the legal provisions, if it is deemed to constitute a monopoly, the EU will have the right to impose a fine of up to 10% of the company's annual revenue, which is equivalent to $36 billion for Apple. But obviously, it is unlikely to give such an astonishing figure in actual operation, and Apple's litigation measures also have room to significantly reduce fines.
According to media reports, in response to the EU investigation on Apple Pay, Apple said that the company designed Apple Pay to provide consumers with a secure and convenient contactless payment service using existing bank cards. Apple Pay is just one of the many options available to European consumers for payment. While ensuring the equal use of NFC by different types of financial institutions, it has set industry-leading standards for privacy and security.
Apple also "pointed out" Apple Pay, which may upset some major European banks. Because the company has access to 2500 banks in Europe, in addition to large financial institutions, many small financial technology companies and challenger banks can also access Apple Pay equally.
