Apple Facing Expanded Probe From Spain’s Antitrust Watchdog

Spain’s competition watchdog is expanding its investigation into Apple’s App Store.

The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) announced Tuesday (July 29) that it would widen the parameters of a probe launched last year into the conditions the tech giant places on developers.

“The CNMC is now investigating whether Apple has established a pricing schedule that developers must follow to distribute their apps in its stores,” the regulator said in a news release, adding that this would constitute conduct restricting competition between companies, in violation of European Union law.

In announcing the probe last year, the CNMC set a 24-month timeframe to conclude its efforts. That deadline will remain in place, the commission said Tuesday.

Reached for comment by PYMNTS, an Apple spokesperson said the company would continue to work with the Spanish regulator to ensure its concerns were understood.

“We designed the App Store to be a safe and trusted experience for users and a great business opportunity for developers in Spain and around the world,” the spokesperson said.

The CNMC is one of several regulators around the world looking into Apple’s App Store practices. Last week, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued a report saying the company and Google enjoyed an “effective duopoly” with their mobile platforms.

“Apple and Google’s mobile platforms are both critical to the U.K. economy — playing an important role in all our lives, from banking and shopping to entertainment and education,” CMA CEO Sarah Cardell said in a news release. “But our investigation so far has identified opportunities for more innovation and choice.”

The CMA’s investigation uncovered concerns among businesses and customers about both companies, such as “inconsistent and unpredictable” app review processes, which can bring about uncertainty for developers and delayed or failed launches, the regulator said.

Writing about the myriad pressures facing Apple earlier this month, PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster argued that the App Store “now has a big blinking asterisk next to it” following an antitrust ruling in favor of Epic Games, which had sued the company.

“Spotify and Netflix and Amazon already use their newfound right to steer users off-platform to sign up,” Webster wrote. “Stripe has published a playbook to show developers how, which suggests a giant sucking sound may follow. Apple’s grip on its ecosystem profits is slipping.”