The App Store is a massive revenue center for Apple.
Spain’s antitrust probe into the App Store is expanding in scope to consider if Apple restricts competition between developers using a pricing schedule.
Apple has been under investigation by Spain’s Comision Nacional De Los Mercados Y La Competencia (CNMC) since July 2024. While that investigation is ongoing, the regulator is widening it to cover other practices that may be unfair to developers.
The CNMC said on Tuesday that it is broadening the probe based on “new evidence” it has received, reports Euronews. That evidence involves a requirement by Apple to follow a specific pricing schedule so they can sell the apps in the App Store.
To the regulator, this would constitute Apple “restricting competition between companies,” which would violate EU law. However, the regulator stops short of explaining what exactly Apple is doing that is a problem in its opinion.
Presently, app developers need to set a price for countries they are familiar with, and the App Store will automatically set pricing for the other storefronts and currencies. They can also choose between 800 price points by default, and can request to access 100 higher points, up to $10,000.
While there is still another year until the CNMC completes the investigation, it advises that the expanded remit won’t prejudge the overall outcome.
A bigger probe
The original 2024 probe from the CNMC wanted to examine allegations of unfair commercial conditions imposed on developers. It was a probe “initiated ex officio,” as in by the regulator itself based on monitoring app storefronts, rather than one of a specific complaint.
At the time, the CNMC wasn’t clear about specific allegations, but Apple publicly denied them. In 2024, Apple insisted that “Spanish developers of all sizes compete on a level playing field on the App Store.”
If Apple does get found guilty in the probe, Spain’s Article 2 of the Law on the Protection of Competition (LDC) could involve fines of up to 10% of the global turnover of Apple, in the year before the fine is imposed.
The widened probe isn’t the only App Store trouble Apple is dealing with in Europe. With the Digital Markets App applying in EU countries, Apple has been urged to comply with antisteering rules, or face hefty fines.
Apple has also tried to appease the European Commission by reducing its third-party app fees.
