Spotify files a complaint against Apple with the European Commission over “Apple tax” and restrictive rules
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/13/spotify-files-a-complaint-against-apple-with-the-european-commission-over-apple-tax-and-restrictive-rules/
Spotify is taking its gloves off in what has up to now been a behind-the-scenes tug-of-war with Apple, where it competes against Apple Music but also relies heavily on the company for distribution in its app on iOS devices. Today CEO Daniel Ek announced that his company has filed a complaint against the iPhone giant with the European Commission, over how Apple has “introduced rules to the App Store that purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience—essentially acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers.”
It has also created a site, Time to Play Fair, which details all of the ways in which Apple has “tilted the playing field,” in the words of Spotify general counsel Horacio Gutierrez in remarks, “in a set of ever increasing restrictions.” The company has not specified damages but believes that “we could have been even more successful” had it not been restricted. Notably, on Google Play, Spotify is not required to use Google’s payment system and is allowed to offer a choice to users. “The situation is completely different.”