Apple Passeig de Gracia store in Spain
Spain has become the latest country to accuse Apple of possible anticompetitive actions concerning alleged unfair treatment of developers on the App Store.
Rather than following a specific complaint, as is typically the cause of an investigation, this one was “initiated ex officio, given the relevance of the economic activity carried out in app shops in Spain.”
Presumably because the CNMC is only beginning an investigation, it is not yet specific about the allegations. Based on other anti-trust probes from other countries, however, it’s likely that at least part of the investigation will concern Apple’s previous anti-steering constraints.
If Apple is found guilty, it will be in part under Spain’s Article 2 of the Law on the Protection of Competition (LDC). Reportedly, an infringement of the LDC “can lead to fines of up to 10% of the total worldwide turnover of the offending companies in the year prior to the imposition of the fine.”
