Germany’s antitrust watchdog launched an investigation into Apple on Thursday. The Federal Cartel Office (FCO) will look into whether Apple has such “paramount significance across markets” that is anticompetitive, Reuters reported.
Apple’s App Store ‘Key Focus’ of German Antitrust Investigation
Andreas Mundt, president of the FCO, said:
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A key focus of the investigation will be the operation of the App Store, as in many cases it empowers Apple to influence the operations of third parties.
There are also understood to be other proceedings regarding complaints about anti-competitive practices.
Responding, an Apple spokesperson said:
We look forward to discussing our approach with the FCO and having an open dialogue about any of their concerns.
Germany’s FCO has recently been given extra powers. It has used these to open investigations into Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Last week, regulators in the UK opened an investigation into both Apple and Google.
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