Judge hints Apple may face more antitrust controls in Germany

Jump to First Reply
Posted:
in iOS

Apple is facing more controls in Germany due to its dominance in the market, as a German federal court has signaled that the country's antitrust regulator could win its legal fight.

White two-story building with multiple windows, three flagpoles in front, surrounded by trees and shrubs, situated on a cobblestone plaza.
Headquarters of Germany's Bundeskartellamt



Apple is facing the prospect of being deemed subject to an extended anti-competition law in Germany, and is fighting the country's Bundeskartellamt antitrust regulator in court over the matter. However, it seems that Apple may not get its way.

On Tuesday, judges from the Federal Court of Justice deliberated for over three hours on whether Apple should be made to deal with additional controls to encourage competition in the market.

Presiding judge Wolfgang Kirchhoff said that an assessment has shown that Apple could be seen as having considerable enough significants across markets to be subjected to the additional controls, reports Reuters.

However, the court did not issue a ruling, and wanted more time to deliberate.

Apple's legal team asked for the court to discuss the matter with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ahead of making a decision, on the belief that EU and German law don't necessarily line up. Judge Kirchhoff said the judges failed to see any grounds for such contact to be made.

Competition checks



The lawsuit was instigated by the Bundeskartellamt in April 2023, with the regulator believing that Apple was subject to a 2021 amendment to the German Competition Act. Section 19a of the act, which came into force in January 2019, adds more controls and checks for companies that the regulator deems to be of "paramount significance for competition across markets."

Following the addendum, the regulator was quick to start an investigation using its new powers into the App Store and Apple's activities.

At the time, Bundeskartellamt president Andreas Mundt said Apple operates a "wide-ranging digital ecosystem which is of great importance to competition not only in Germany, but also throughout Europe and the world." With control of iOS and the App Store Apple therefore "holds a key position for competition," he continued.

Apple's lawsuit aims to defeat the regulator's decision, and therefore allow Apple to operate without the extra checks to prohibit anti-competitive practices.

So far, Google parent company Alphabet and Facebook owner Meta are companies that have to deal with the extra controls.

As part of the regulations, the Bundeskartellamt's decision is limited to a five-year period, a timer that started in April 2023. If Apple fails to convince the court to side with it on the matter, the designation will still stand until April 2028.

The legal fight is also separate from the regulator's other Apple-related activities. In June 2022, it launched an antitrust investigation into Apple over App Tracking Transparency, specifically complaints that ATT rules that applied to third-party app producers didn't apply to Apple itself.

Germany's activity also follows after years of attempts by the EU and other governments to curtail the power of tech giants in the marketplace.

The most recent attempt are the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, a set of rules to try and force gatekeepers to act in a competition-promoting way.

This included forcing Apple into allowing third-party App Store alternatives onto the iPhone in the EU, and eliminating anti-steering rules. Changes that Apple dragged its heels over, but eventually relented in some cases.



Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,331member
    Ok Germany, where's your computer devices that are used worldwide? Oh, can't actually make any that people want to use? Quit complaining about Apple's success and try and compete instead of trying to make money by fining an American company.
    gweedoiOS_Guy80mike1strongysphericdanoxMacPro
     5Likes 1Dislike 1Informative
  • Reply 2 of 11
    rob53 said:
    Ok Germany, where's your computer devices that are used worldwide? Oh, can't actually make any that people want to use? Quit complaining about Apple's success and try and compete instead of trying to make money by fining an American company.
    Regulations are how europe competes now. :|
    iOS_Guy80mike1strongysphericentropysMacPro
     5Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 11
    dix99dix99 Posts: 16member
    Those EU countries have to keep milking everyone, as they need all that extra cash, so they can send all those illegal aliens to every other country. 
    rob53strongysphericlondorwilliamlondonMacPro
     3Likes 3Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 11
    rob53 said:
    Ok Germany, where's your computer devices that are used worldwide? Oh, can't actually make any that people want to use? Quit complaining about Apple's success and try and compete instead of trying to make money by fining an American company.
    Your iPhone and Mac were designed on tools made by Siemens.
    muthuk_vanalingamnubuswilliamlondon
     2Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 11
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,715member
    Your iPhone and Mac were designed on tools made by Siemens.
    And their chips were produced on machines made by ASML. 
    muthuk_vanalingamnubus
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 11
    thrangthrang Posts: 1,051member
    spheric said:
    And their chips were produced on machines made by ASML. 
    So the EU should sue/sanction ASML, as they are a clear monopoly in the market in which they participate.

    Oh wait, they are headquartered in the Netherlands, so, hmmmm, perhaps the EU is not aware of them...
    danox
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 11
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,099member
    thrang said:
    So the EU should sue/sanction ASML, as they are a clear monopoly in the market in which they participate.

    Oh wait, they are headquartered in the Netherlands, so, hmmmm, perhaps the EU is not aware of them...
    Why do they have a monopoly? 

    And how can that be changed? 

    They have a monopoly because US companies refused to take the financial risks involved in developing EUV, which on a fundamental research level can be attributed to the US. ASML was originally excluded from access to developing a practical EUV solution (which took decades of further research). 

    Anyone can break the monopoly by producing their own EUV machines or substitute technology. 

    Expect some Chinese or Japanese company to do just at some point in the future. 

    https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/china-chipmaking-stocks-surge-on-euv-lithography-tech-progress-3820907

    https://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoimprint-lithography


    edited January 29
    spheric
     0Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 8 of 11
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 685member
    Maybe they did not notice we have a new sheriff is in the White House who will not fold. No chance he will put up with the EU's or a member country's nonsense. Like Trump or not he is making America Number One.
    williamlondonWesley Hilliard
     0Likes 2Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 11
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 685member
    Your iPhone and Mac were designed on tools made by Siemens.
    Which were purchased on the open market. If Siemens is the only option for such tools then that is another problem for Germany. Additionally the computers and software used to design those tools were all but certainly US designed and made. The computers might not be HP, Dell, Apple or similar, but no matter as the internal components are US designed and in the case of some of the chips built in the US.



    edited January 29
    williamlondon
     0Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 11
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,715member
    thrang said:
    So the EU should sue/sanction ASML, as they are a clear monopoly in the market in which they participate.

    Oh wait, they are headquartered in the Netherlands, so, hmmmm, perhaps the EU is not aware of them…
    Why should they sanction monopolies? Antitrust laws (U.S. ones, too) apply when companies ABUSE their market position (they don't even need to hold a factual monopoly to be able to do so). 

    Maybe nobody has been able to put forth a reasoned complaint that they've unfairly abused their position? 

    If you know details, feel free to file a complaint with the European Commission — that's what they're there for. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 11
    gweedo said:

    Regulations are how europe competes now. :|
    Regulations, please meet Tariffs.  You will see each other often.
    MacPro
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
Sign In or Register to comment.