European Consumer Group Joins EU Antitrust Against Apple

On Wednesday, the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) lobby group has extended an arm of support to the European Union in the ongoing antitrust case against global recognized global giant Apple. The antitrust case alleges that Apple distorts competition in the music streaming market.

The first antitrust charges against Apple by the union were filed in April after a complaint by the company’s streaming platform rival Spotify.

Apple had rejected the charges they were accused of by the European Union on grounds that its App store allowed Spotify to become the largest music subscription platform in the world. The company was given 12 weeks to respond to the charges.

Apple could lose as much as 10 percent of its global turnover if found guilty of the claims. The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) revealed that it has been granted the permission to join in the case as an interested third-party. The Director General of the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) in a statement said that “we look forward to working with the Commission to ensure that Europe’s consumers have access to a full range of music streaming services without their choices being unfairly restricted or prices being artificially inflated”.

The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) said that as an interested third-party, its job is ensuring that people have unrestricted access to the full range of music streaming services that they can lay their hands on without any direct or indirect form of restriction or price changes.

The whole brouhaha first started when Spotify laid complaints against Apple, accusing the company of anti-competitive behavior in the way its App store and in-app purchases are operated. This was what led to a formal antitrust investigation of Apple.

As at Wednesday, Apple shares traded lower by 0.02 percent at $124.26.