The European Commission has fined Apple a hefty €1.8 billion (around $1.95 billion) for anti-competitive practices related to music streaming apps on iPhones and iPads. The issue stemmed from Apple’s dominant position in the app market, which they allegedly abused by restricting how music streaming app developers operate on their devices. Last month, there were talks of a $500 million fine, but this is a huge step-up from that.

The EU deemed Apple’s practices illegal since they limited user choices

These restrictions, called “anti-steering provisions,” prevented developers from informing users about cheaper subscription options available outside the App Store, including prohibiting them from including links to their own websites or mentioning price differences between in-app subscriptions and those offered elsewhere. The EU deemed these practices illegal as they limited user choice, potentially led to inflated prices, and hindered competition by giving Apple an unfair advantage.

The fine amount considers the ten-year duration of the violation, Apple’s significant market size, and the need to deter future similar offenses. Additionally, the EU has ordered Apple to remove these anti-steering provisions and refrain from repeating such practices in the future.

This decision could potentially lead to a more competitive music streaming landscape on Apple devices, with users benefiting from more transparent pricing and a wider range of subscription options. Furthermore, it promotes a fairer and more open app market for developers. It’s important to remember that Apple has the right to appeal the decision, but this ruling serves as a strong message for fair competition and consumer rights in the digital age.

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Ever since AI became mainstream, laws regarding AI have become necessary to address ethical concerns, protect individual rights, ensure safety and security, establish accountability and liability, promote economic considerations, and enable international harmonization. These laws set guidelines for responsible AI development, protect privacy, mitigate risks, hold individuals and organizations accountable for harm, foster innovation, and facilitate global cooperation in the development and use of AI technologies.

Rapidly advancing AI technology is heightening the need for voluntary agreements among Devs

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and the European Commission are joining forces to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) pact involving companies from Europe and beyond. The goal is to create a voluntary agreement among AI developers before official regulations governing the technology come into effect. This move comes as EU industry chief Thierry Breton met with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, in Brussels. The urgency to act stems from concerns over the potential disruptive impact of rapidly advancing AI technology and the need to strike a balance between regulation and innovation.

Thierry Breton emphasized the need to proactively develop an AI pact on a voluntary basis, rather than waiting for formal regulations to be enforced. The aim is to foster collaboration among AI developers to establish ethical guidelines and principles that align with societal expectations. Breton also called on EU countries and lawmakers to expedite the finalization of the Commission’s proposed AI rules before the end of the year.

EU Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, stressed the importance of collective action, stating that universal rules for AI need to be agreed upon voluntarily and promptly due to the rapid evolution of AI technology. The European Union and the United States are also planning to enhance collaboration to establish minimum standards before legislation is enacted.

During the discussions, Commission Vice President Vera Jourova expressed concerns to Pichai regarding the spread of pro-Kremlin war propaganda and disinformation on Google’s platforms, emphasizing the risks they pose to EU and national elections. Pichai pledged to investigate the challenges faced by independent Russian media in monetizing their content on YouTube in Russia.

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Europe has been quite strict with enforcing its laws when it comes to big tech conglomerates. Previously, the European Union forced Apple to switch their iPhones from lightning ports to USB-C ports, which was huge considering Apple had no plans of doing so before they were pressured by the union. In latest news, Google has pledged to make changes to several products and services in order to comply with EU laws regarding transparency and providing clear information to consumers. 

Following discussions with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC), led by the European Commission, Google has agreed to address issues raised by authorities and make changes to Google Store, Google Play Store, Google Hotels, and Google Flights. Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders stated that EU consumers are entitled to clear, complete information so that they can make informed choices, and Google’s commitments are a step forward in this direction. The Commission further addressed Google, asking the company to comply fully with the Geo-blocking Regulation. The regulation ensures that consumers can enjoy the same rights and access the same content throughout Europe.

Google has agreed to limit its ability to make unilateral changes related to orders, as well as create an email address for consumer protection authorities to report and request the removal of illegal content. Here are some major changes that Google will incorporate into its practices

Google Flights and Google Hotels

• Clarifying whether customers are dealing directly with Google or if Google is merely an intermediary in the transaction.
• Clarifying the reference price pertaining to discounts, as advertised on Google. Also, letting the customers know if reviews are not verified on Google Hotels.
• Adhering to the same transparency commitments as other major platforms with regard to prices, availability, and more.

Google Play Store and Google Store

• Google has agreed to offer detailed information on delivery costs, the option to withdraw, and the availability of repair or replacement options before any transactions take place. Additionally, Google will provide information on the company, including its legal name and address, as well as direct and effective contact methods such as a live telephone agent. 
• The company will also ensure that consumers can easily navigate different country versions of the Google Play Store and inform developers of their responsibility to make their apps available throughout the EU. Furthermore, Google will enable consumers to use different payment methods from any EU country.

The CPC (Consumer Protection Cooperation) will actively monitor the implementation of these commitments, and national authorities will monitor and enforce compliance where necessary. However, one practice by Google that does not fully comply with the Geo-blocking Regulation is the application of technical limitations for the use of apps that would normally be available in the country where the user is temporarily located. As per reports, the CPC and national authorities will continue to monitor this issue.

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The European Union has officially objected to Apple yet again. This time, the European Commission has issued a Statement of Objections to the company for limiting third party access to its Apple Pay NFC system.

According to a MacRumors report, the Cupertino based giant is facing backlash for restricting third party payment services from accessing the NFC payment feature on its iPhones. In other words, the brand is basically restricting competition in mobile wallets on the iOS platform as a whole. The European Commission also added that further investigation will be commenced before any actions are taken against the company.

The original statement reads, “The European Commission has informed Apple of its preliminary view that it abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices. By limiting access to a standard technology used for contactless payments with mobile devices in stores (‘Near-Field Communication (NFC)’ or ‘tap and go’), Apple restricts competition in the mobile wallets market on iOS.” Furthermore, the European Commission’s Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said that the access to NFC is a requirement for any of Apple’s competing mobile wallet services

She further added that “Developing a mobile payment application is costly. Investment may only be worth it if developers can reach both Apple and Android customers. Evidence on our file indicates that some developers did not go ahead with their plans as they were not able to reach iPhone users. This behavior stifled innovation and prevented competition in the mobile wallet market. As a result, European consumers have little choice of mobile payment solutions when paying in shops.” In its defense, Apple cited security risk as the reason for limiting NFC access but the regulator’s investigation has not found any evidence of said risk.

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The European Union’s General Court has ruled that the European Commission was right in fining Google for an antirust breach for which the technology giant was fined 2.42 billion euros, approximately $2.8 billion.

A few years ago, in 2017, EU’s competition watchdog European Commission found that Google had favored its own comparison shopping services and fined the company for breaching antitrust rules. The search engine giant then contested the claims to the second-highest court in the EU and has now lost the appeal.

The court has confirmed that the company will need to pay the fine of 2.42 billion euros. The Alphabet-owned company also has an option to appeal this verdict and take the case forward to the EU’s highest court.

In a press release, the court said: “The General Court finds that, by favoring its own comparison shopping service on its general results pages through more favorable display and positioning, while relegating the results from competing comparison services in those pages by means of ranking algorithms, Google departed from competition on the merits.”

The company said it made changes in 2017 to comply with the commission’s decision. In a statement, the company said: “Our approach has worked successfully for more than three years, generating billions of clicks for more than 700 comparison shopping services.”

After this anti-trust fine in 2017, the commission followed by two other major antitrust penalties against Google, totaling 8.25 billion euros ($9.5 billion), which the company is appealing. The fines are a drop in the bucket for Google’s parent company which earned $182 billion in revenue just last year.

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Nvidia’s acquisition of ARM has been facing obstacles ever since the company announced the deal and in the latest setback, the European Union antitrust regulators have now opened a full-scale investigation into the acquisition of ARM, a deal worth $54 billion.

The antitrust regulator will be looking into the concerns about the deal leading to higher prices, fewer options to choose from, and reduced innovation. The Commission said that it would make a decision about the deal by March 15, 2022.

This full-scale investigation comes after a preliminary review during which Nvidia reportedly offered concessions that were viewed as insufficient by the European Commission.

Nvidia has not disclosed what these concessions are but it has previously said it would maintain ARM as a neutral technology supplier to soothe concerns from customers such as Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, and Apple, among others.

EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said: “Whilst Arm and Nvidia do not directly compete, Arm’s IP is an important input in products competing with those of Nvidia, for example in datacentres, automotive and in the Internet of Things. Our analysis shows that the acquisition of Arm by Nvidia could lead to restricted or degraded access to Arm’s IP, with distortive effects in many markets where semiconductors are used.”

Commenting on this, Nvidia spokesperson said: “We are working closely with the European Commission through the regulatory process. We look forward to the opportunity to address their initial concerns and continue demonstrating that the transaction will help to accelerate Arm and boost competition and innovation, including in the EU.”

A couple of months ago, the UK regulator found that the acquisition of ARM by Nvidia could damage competition and weaken rivals, and required a further lengthy investigation.

For the uninitiated, NVIDIA, the world’s biggest graphics card, and AI chips maker announced the acquisition of ARM last year. SoftBank had acquired ARM back in 2016 for 31.4 billion US Dollars. ARM is a known chip designer with its architecture being one of the most popular designs used in most smartphone chips.

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European antitrust regulators are reportedly set to charge technology giant Apple with anti-competitive practices regarding the NFC chip inside iPhones and Apple Pay. It is said that the charges are being finalized and be sent to Apple sometime next year.

For those who are unaware, last year, the European Commission had opened an investigation into Apple Pay and the iPhone’s NFC chip last year. It was focusing on whether Apple unfairly locked out competition for contactless payment services by restricting the use of the NFC chip inside iPhones.

While details about the report remain unclear, it says that Apple is set to be charged with “anti-competitive practices related to its NFC chip technology.” Apple could be forced to “open up its mobile payment system to rivals.”

Apple has been slowly opening access to the NFC in the iPhone, but compared to its integration with Apple Pay, third-party services are still significantly hindered.

The development comes at a time when Apple has been found in breach of competition law related to its music streaming service in Europe earlier this year. Following complaints from Spotify, the EU competition commission said that Apple unfairly favors Apple Music over rival streaming services due to the fees imposed on App Store applications.

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The executive arm of the European Union, the European Commission, is intensifying efforts to ensure that smartphone OEMs adopt a single USB-C charging port on their devices. The EU had first made a case for the adoption of a single charger in 2018 and has since then been making efforts to get manufacturers to adopt this policy aimed at reducing environmental wastes. The efforts haven’t reduced the desired result as Apple has opposed the proposal.

Apparently, the commission is poised to move ahead with the proposal by adopting legislation to that effect. The commission has announced plans to push ahead with the proposal. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton disclosed in a press conference that the proposals only cover wired connectivity and don’t extend to wireless gadgets or chargers.

The new revised Radio Equipment Directive proposal won’t be limited to smartphones but will extend to other devices such as cameras, videogame consoles, tablets, headphones, and portable speakers. Also, the proposal will compel manufacturers to make their fast-charging standards uniform and to also provide information to customers about what charging standards their device supports.

The proposal still has a long way to go before it will become a law. It will be subjected to a vote at the European Parliament. If it succeeds in getting the majority vote, manufacturers will get a 24-month window to implement it on their devices.  There is no doubt that the EU parliament will vote in favor of the proposal having earlier in 2020 voted in a related proposal that sought to make manufacturers adopt a common charger for all devices.

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(source)

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NVIDIA has sought European Union antitrust approval for the $40 billion acquisition of chip designing company ARM. This could kickstart an antitrust probe which may become an obstacle for the company’s plan to close the deal by early 2022.

According to the European Commission filing, the initial deadline to rule on the transaction has a deadline of 13th October. The regulators are likely to echo worries similar to those voiced by the UK watchdog last month.

The competition watchdog of the United Kingdom has warned that the deal could damage competition and weaken rivals, and required a further lengthy investigation. The acquisition also needs approval from the U.S. and China.

The deal must be completed by September of next year, or NVIDIA would have to pay SoftBank $1.25 billion.

In a statement related to this, NVIDIA said, “We are working through the regulatory process and we look forward to engaging with the European Commission to address any concerns they may have. This transaction will be beneficial to Arm, its licensees, competition, and the industry.”

With criticism surrounding the deal, the EU is likely to extend its review by at least another four months to examine potential competition concerns. The company had originally planned to complete the deal by March 2022, when the acquisition was announced.

For the uninitiated, NVIDIA, the world’s biggest graphics card and AI chips maker announced the acquisition of ARM last year. As a part of the deal, NVIDIA will be paying 12 billion US Dollars in cash, which includes 2 billion US Dollars payable at signing and giving out 21.5 billion US Dollars worth of NVIDIA’s stock to SoftBank.

SoftBank had acquired ARM back in 2016 for 31.4 billion US Dollars. ARM is a known chip designer with its architecture being one of the most popular designs used in most smartphone chips from companies like Qualcomm, Apple, and even certain Intel chips.

Companies like Qualcomm, Samsung, and Apple are opposing the acquisition while some other companies, including Broadcom, MediaTek, and Marvell are in support of the deal.

To ensure that the deal gets approval, NVIDIA has promised that it will maintain open licensing and that the deal will help ARM, its licensees, and the industry. Antitrust officials rarely approve “behavioral commitments” without a more careful review due to the difficulty of checking how a company will keep its promises.

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A group of 165 companies and industry bodies have called for stricter action and tougher lines against Google, stating that the US search engine giant unfairly favors its own services on its web searches.

According to a Reuters report, the group includes companies from both the US and UK, along with others from over 21 different European countries. These firms sent a joint letter to EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager earlier this week. In the letter, the group expressed that Google was giving unfair preference to its own services such as accommodation, travel, and jobs, in terms of placements in search results and have called for swift action against the company to end the practice.

Google has since refuted the allegations of it favoring its own services. The tech giant further added that its users are not locked in and that competition to its services is just one click away on the internet. As per a Google representative, “People expect Google to give them the most relevant, high quality search results that they can trust.”

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The representative also stated that “They do not expect us to preference specific companies or commercial rivals over others, or to stop launching helpful services which create more choice and competition for Europeans.” Notably, Vestager has already levied fines of over 8.25 billion euros (roughly 9.7 billion US Dollars) against Google in the past three years alone for abusing its market dominance, through Android and other platforms.

Notable members of the 165 strong group include Yelp, Expedia, Trivago, Kelkoo, Stepstone, and Foundem, which are a part of the largest ever consortium to write to the EU competition chief for action. The European Commission said it had received the letter and a reply will arrive in due time. It further added that the market will be carefully assessed as well.

In the letter titled ‘UNJUSTIFIED ADVANTAGES,’ the group called out the search giant stating that “While we compete amongst ourselves for the best consumer experience, there is one common competitor that does not compete fairly – Google. It gained unjustified advantages through preferentially treating its own services within its general search results pages by displaying various forms of grouped specialized search results (so-called OneBoxes).”

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Broadcom is apparently going to end the exclusivity deals that it had offered to TV and modem makers for seven years in a deal with EU antitrust regulators. This move arrives after a year long investigation by the European Commission that hasn’t found any wrongdoing on Broadcom’s part.

For those unaware, the European Commission started an investigation against the US based chipmaker in June 2019, and had even threatened to issue an interim order, the first in two decades, to stop such practices during the course of the investigation. Broadcom is a known supplier of Apple and even makes chips for smartphones, computers, and even networking equipment as well.

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According to the EU competition regulator, “Broadcom will suspend all existing agreements containing exclusivity or quasi-exclusivity arrangements and/or leveraging provisions concerning Systems-on-a-Chip (SoCs) for TV set-top boxes and Internet modems, and has committed not to enter into new agreements comprising such terms.” 

As per the Reuters report, the company will not offer price or non price incentives to TV and modem makers to buy a minimum number of its products in Europe. Furthermore, these purchases will also not be related to the sales of other products either. Similarly, Broadcom will also pledge not to offer price or non price incentives to TV and modem makers to buy more than 50 percent of its products or have its sales related to any other products for more than 50 percent of its products globally, excluding China.

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Google or rather the official Android Twitter account tweeted that it will begin charging Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei, Xiaomi and ZTE and several others starting Q3 2019. Moments later, the tweet was deleted. Confused? Don’t be.

First, some backstory. Last year, the European Commission fined Google €4.34 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. The European Commission said Google had imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to cement its dominant position in general internet search. Google is said to have done this in three ways:

1. requiring manufacturers to pre-install the Google search app and Chrome browser as a condition for Google Play store licensing
2. paid certain large manufacturers and mobile network operators to exclusively pre-install the Google search app on their devices
3. prevented manufacturers wishing to pre-install Google apps from selling their mobile devices with forked versions of Android that were not approved by Google

The commission says these are all illegal under EU antitrust rules.

Google had to update its regional compatibility agreement in October 2018 to allow manufacturers to unbundle key services from the Android OS. However, if you wanted to unbundle some of these services e.g. Play Store, you had to pay a licensing fee. Manufacturers that want to include Google Search and the Chrome browser would not be charged. Apparently, the licensing fee for those who don’t want search and chrome is sort of payment for the development and free distribution of Android. These new rules apply only to devices shipped into the European Economic Area.

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Going back to the tweet, it appears Google wants to start charging Chinese OEMs too which include Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi starting later this year. It is still not clear if these phone makers will be charged for their phones sold in the EU only or if it is for their phones sold in their home market.

(Via)

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