Apple Faces Antitrust Investigation Over Market Dominance in Germany

An Apple spokesperson said that the company looks forward to “having an open dialogue” with German watchdog about any concerns.

By Reuters | Updated: 21 June 2021 16:28 IST

Germany's FCO said it would assess whether Apple has paramount significance across markets in first step

Highlights

One complaint came from an association in advertising and media industry
Apple is restricting user tracking with the introduction of its iOS 14.5
Apple said it is looking forward to discussing approach with the FCO

Germany's antitrust watchdog said on Monday it had launched an investigation into whether Apple was exploiting its market dominance, following similar proceedings into US tech rivals Facebook, Amazon, and Google.

Based on new competition law rules specifically intended for large digital companies, Germany's Federal Cartel Office (FCO) said it would assess whether Apple has a "paramount significance across markets" in a first step.

"Based on this first proceeding, the (FCO) intends to assess in more detail specific practices of Apple in a possible further proceeding. In this regard, the authority has received various complaints relating to potentially anti-competitive practices."

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The FCO said one complaint came from an association in the advertising and media industry and was aimed at Apple restricting user tracking with the introduction of its iOS 14.5 operating system.

An Apple spokesperson said: "We look forward to discussing our approach with the FCO and having an open dialogue about any of their concerns."

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© Thomson Reuters 2021

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