European Commission accuses Apple of abuse of position

The European Commission sent Apple a statement of charges in which it formally accuses the US company of abuse of a dominant position for limiting the possibilities for “Tap to Pay” contactless payment to NFC wireless technology, which in practice means restrict competition in favor of its Apple Pay service.

“We are concerned that Apple has illegally altered competition,” said the vice president of the Community Executive responsible for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, explaining Brussels’ opinion after the preliminary investigation that began in June 2020.

The “Tap to Pay” payment system is a service with which users can use an iPhone as a payment terminal in their businesses, so that customers can use their iPhone to pay just by bringing the mobile device closer.

Apple defends the need for these restrictions for security reasons regarding user data access, but Vestager has warned that the European Commission “takes security very seriously” but in its preliminary investigation has found “no evidence that point out such a risk.”

K. Tovar

Source: Elpais