The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reportedly launched an investigation into how Apple treats other music streaming services in the App Store. Continuing from earlier reports that the FTC was merely making queries rather than performing a full investigation, the government agency has allegedly moved into an investigatory phase, looking into whether or not Apple is behaving anti-competitively with regards to the App Store’s fees.
The Wall Street Journal claims the antitrust review is under way, with subpoenas allegedly being served to music services in order to collect more information. Neither the FTC nor Apple have commented on the review.
The issue stems from the fee Apple takes from transactions made through the App Store. Apple takes a 30-percent cut from funds paid through its service, something which forces other competing services to raise their prices as they pass the extra cost to consumers, though since the fee does not apply to Apple Music, some may consider this to be beneficial for Apple’s own service.
According to App Store rules, a music service can allow for an app to be downloaded to an iOS device at no charge, but any subscriptions originating from the app include the 30 percent fee, and the app cannot indicate that users can get the same subscription elsewhere for less money. In the case of Spotify, it sent an email to affected iOS users explaining how they could subscribe directly instead of through the app, saving them $3 off the cost of the service.
Given how FTC reviews typically operate, it is unlikely for there to be any decision by the regulator on whether or not to file charges until later this year, if not the start of next year.
