BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's antitrust watchdog said on Monday it had launched an investigation into whether Apple was exploiting its market dominance, following similar proceedings into U.S. tech rivals Facebook, Amazon and Google.
Based on new competition law rules specifically intended for large digital companies, Germany's Federal Cartel Office (FCO) said it would assess whether Apple has a "paramount significance across markets" in a first step.
"Based on this first proceeding, the (FCO) intends to assess in more detail specific practices of Apple in a possible further proceeding. In this regard, the authority has received various complaints relating to potentially anti-competitive practices."
The FCO said one complaint came from an association in the advertising and media industry and was aimed at Apple restricting user tracking with the introduction of its iOS 14.5 operating system.
An Apple spokesperson said: "We look forward to discussing our approach with the FCO and having an open dialogue about any of their concerns."
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Supantha Mukherjee; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Edmund Blair)
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU