European regulators want to question Apple after it blocks Epic Games app store
European Union regulators want to question Apple over accusations that it blocked video game company Epic Games from setting up its own app store
LONDON — European Union regulators said they want to question Apple over accusations that it blocked video game company Epic Games from setting up its own app store, in a possible violation of digital rules that took effect in the 27-nation bloc Thursday.
It's a fresh escalation of the high-stakes battle between the two companies. Epic, maker of the popular game Fortnite, has spent years fighting Apple’s exclusive control over the distribution of iPhone apps.
Epic asserted Wednesday that Apple thwarted its attempt to set up its own iOS app marketplace to compete with Apple's App Store, calling it a breach of the EU's new Digital Markets Act.
The sweeping set of rules, designed to stop big tech companies from cornering digital markets, have forced Apple to allow people in Europe to download iPhone apps from stores not operated by the U.S. tech giant — a move it's long resisted.
The European Commission, the EU's top antitrust watchdog, said in a statement Thursday that it has “requested further explanations on this from Apple under the DMA.” The rules threaten penalties that could reach into the billions for violations.
The commission said it's “also evaluating whether Apple’s actions raise doubts on their compliance” with other EU regulations including the Digital Services Act, a second set of regulations in the bloc's digital rulebook that prohibit tech companies from ”arbitrary application" of their terms and conditions.
Epic contended that Apple was brazenly violating the DMA by rejecting an alternative iPhone app store that it planned to set up in Sweden to serve
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