After Apple kick started another head on fight with Epic Games, European Union antitrust cops, have moved in in what could be a bigger problem for Apple who earlier in the week was fined A$3 billion dollars by the EU, for unfairly favouring its own music streaming service by forbidding rivals like Spotify from telling users how they could pay for cheaper subscriptions outside of iPhone apps.
In their latest fight Apple has blocked “Fortnite” maker Epic Games from launching its own app store for iPhone customers.
EU regulators see the move as being brazen and arrogant, and a move that came as the business that has a reputation for stealing other people’s technology, faced a deadline to comply with sweeping new European tech competition law.
Apple whose stock is in freefall having fallen another 5.3% during the past five days to be sub US$170 on Wednesday escalated its feud with Epic Games and its CEO Tim Sweeney — who previously called Apple’s proposed compliance changes to its App Store “hot garbage” — by terminating the developer account for Epic Games’ Swedish affiliate.
The account, which Apple had approved just weeks earlier, would have allowed Epic to offer “Fortnite” and its “Epic Games Store” directly to iPhone users.
The move came as EU regulators demanded that Apple complies with their Digital Markets Act — a new law that imposes new restrictions on Apple and five other “gatekeeper” companies and penalizes them for violations.
In what appears to be a case of EU throwing the book at Apple, regulators are also set to examine whether Apple’s actions are in compliance with two other antitrust laws – the Digital Service Act and the Platform-to-Business Regulation.
“The DSA sets a requirement for clear, transparent terms and conditions, no arbitrary application of these terms and conditions, provision of statements of reasons in case a decision is taken, and the possibility for complaints and redress,” a European Commission spokesperson said.
“If content is moderated and accounts are temporarily suspended or permanently terminated, this needs to be proportionate and in due regard to fundamental rights,” the spokesperson added.
Epic Games called Apple’s surprise move a “serious violation” of the DMA.
Top EU officials agree and have overnight moved to take new action against Apple.
EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager wrote in an X post last night that gamers would “be able to play @FortniteGame once it will be back on iOS” alongside a winking-face emoji — just hours after Apple announced it had terminated Epic’s account in Europe.
The EU has also “requested further explanations from Apple under the DMA,” a spokesperson confirmed in a statement to The New York Post.
Epic said Apple had cited Sweeney’s public criticism of the iPhone maker’s business practices as one of the reasons the developer account was terminated.
App Store chief Phil Schiller a long time Apple employee send a letter to Tim Sweeney the CEO of Epic Games claiming.
“Your colourful criticism of our DMA compliance plan, coupled with Epic’s past practice of intentionally violating contractual provisions with which it disagrees, strongly suggest that Epic Sweden does not intend to follow the rules,” Schiller said in the letter.
Schiller also demanded that Epic Games provide “written assurance” that it is acting in “good faith” and explain “why we should trust Epic this time.”
Consumer Reports Sumit Sharma, a senior researcher claims that Apple’s brash stance runs the risk of antagonizing EU regulators who will decide whether it is in compliance with the law.
“It is not clear to me on what basis Apple can ask developers to provide additional assurances before it follows the law – and to cite Epic’s criticism of Apple’s compliance with the DMA as a reason for suspending its account would seem to violate the DMA’s anti-retaliatory provisions,” Sharma said.
“So, in my view, Apple is being unnecessarily antagonistic and not doing itself any favours,” he added.
