EU antitrust authorities will sue Apple for anti-competitive practices related to the NFC chip in iPhones and Apple Pay, according to a recent report.
The European Commission launched its investigation into Apple Pay and the iPhone's NFC chip last year. At the time, the Commission said the investigation would focus on whether Apple was unfairly excluding competing contactless payment services by restricting the use of the NFC chip in iPhones. reported Reuters reported that EU antitrust authorities will sue Apple for "anti-competitive practices related to its NFC chip technology." The details are still unclear, but the charges could force Apple to tolerate third-party solutions in addition to its mobile payment system.
The EU competition authority is currently working on a so-called statement of objections outlining its concerns, which is expected to be sent to Apple next year.
While Apple has gradually opened up access to NFC in the iPhone over the years, third-party providers are still severely limited compared to Apple Pay integration in iOS.
Apple Pay: Is Apple violating competition law?
Earlier this year, EU antitrust regulators found the App Store to be in breach of competition law, particularly with regard to music streaming services. Following complaints from Spotify, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that Apple unfairly favours Apple Music over rival streaming services due to the fees it charges for App Store applications. Competition Commissioner Vestager has also raised antitrust concerns related to Siri, saying that the EU has received complaints from more than 200 companies about certain exclusivity and tying practices related to voice assistants. However, no official charges have been filed so far. Cook reportedly met with Vestager in New York City earlier this week, although the details of that meeting are still unclear. However, it's hard to imagine that the NFC complaint didn't come up in the conversation. (Photo by Denys Prykhodov / Bigstockphoto)
