Apple Not Playing Fair, US App Maker Blix Said to Write to EU's Vestager

Blix previously sued Apple for excluding its BlueMail product from the Mac App Store, accusing Apple of infringing its tech and abusing its dominance.

By Reuters | Updated: 21 September 2020 17:45 IST

Apple Not Playing Fair, US App Maker Blix Said to Write to EU's Vestager

Apple subsequently allowed BlueMail back in the digital shop citing security issues for the exclusion

Highlights

Facebook & Microsoft recently voiced concerns about App Store rules
Blix previously accused Apple of infringing its patented technology
Apple was also accused of abusing its dominance in the app store

US app maker Blix on Monday took its fight against Apple to Europe as it laid out its grievances against the iPhone maker to EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, saying that Apple is not playing fair.

Blix's criticism came amid Vestager's ongoing investigation into Apple's App Store and mobile payment system Apple Pay as she moves to curb the power of online gatekeepers on which thousands of companies depend for business.

Blix previously sued Apple for excluding its BlueMail product from the Mac App Store, accusing the company of infringing its patented technology and abusing its dominance in the app store.

Facebook, Microsoft Gripes With Apple's App Store on EU's Antitrust Radar

Apple, which subsequently allowed BlueMail back in the digital shop, had cited security issues for the exclusion.

"It is clear to us that Apple is not playing fair," Blix founder Ben Volach wrote in a letter to Vestager seen by Reuters.

"In writing this letter, we are trying to dispel a misconception perpetrated by Apple. The App Store is not a level playing field; developers are not treated equally when they compete with Apple's own apps. Our own experience bears this out," he said.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Volach urged Vestager, who will announce by the end of the year tough new rules known as the Digital Services Act to make US tech giants play fair, to look deeper into Apple's actions.

"They mask Apple's ambition to fully control this essential marketplace and distribution channel in order to maintain its apps' dominance to its competitors' disadvantage," he said.

US social media giant Facebook and Microsoft recently voiced concerns about Apple's App Store rules, which the European Commission said it was aware of.

EU Court Backs Apple in Case Over $15 Billion in Back Taxes

© Thomson Reuters 2020

Are Apple Watch SE, iPad 8th Gen the Perfect ‘Affordable' Products for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.