Latest news with #anti-competitive
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Apple hits back against 'unprecedented' €500m EU fine
Apple is appealing against a €500m (£430m; $586m) fine handed down by EU regulators over alleged anti-competitive behaviour on its App European Commission said in April that the tech giant had breached its laws by restricting app developers in their ability to inform customers of alternative offers or marketplaces that could be found outside its own and steer them towards purchases. Apple called the Commission's fine "unprecedented" on Monday, saying the decision and its penalty "go far beyond what the law requires".A Commission spokesperson told the BBC it took note of Apple's filing and would defend its decisions in court. The company objects to the Commission requiring it to make further concessions to app developers, including provision of tiers for services which it says introduce more complexity to its options for users and businesses."As our appeal will show, the [Commission] is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms which are confusing for developers and bad for users," Apple said in a statement."We implemented this to avoid punitive daily fines and will share the facts with the Court."Paolo Pescatore, technology analyst at PP Foresight, said Apple's appeal was a "widely expected move" that "sets the precedent for others"."It is disappointing that it now has to be settled in a long, drawn public process in the courts," he said, adding the nature of changes required by regulators - and enforcement of them - can be lengthy and complex."We should not underestimate the sheer complexities of having to make fundamental design, operational and commercial changes to well-established services and the time it takes to enforce them," he told the BBC."As always the devil is in the detail, which will inevitably take more time to unravel." EU's big tech scrutiny The Commission's Apple fine was delivered in April alongside a penalty on Facebook owner Meta of €200m (£171m) over choice for users under its "consent or pay" fines were the first imposed under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) - its landmark legislation designed to boost competitive business practice in online law also carries tougher obligations for companies designated dominant "gatekeepers" in certain sectors, and firms face hefty fines of up to 10% of their annual global turnover for rule Virkkunen, the Commission's executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said at the time that both companies had undermined the key principles of the DMA - to enable free business and choice for said it was being "unfairly targeted" and forced to "give away our technology for free".It also accused the regulator of "[moving] the goal posts" during their has now escalated its complaint to the EU's second highest court, the General EU's strict regulation of large US tech firms has also attracted scrutiny from President Donald Trump's said in January that he had "some very big complaints with the EU" regarding its treatment of American tech companies, likening fines upon them to "a form of taxation".Speaking on a podcast in October, he said Apple's boss Tim Cook had also called him to complain about the bloc's fines. Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
CTV News
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Türkiye opens Spotify probe after ‘provocative playlist' complaint
Türkiye's competition authority has launched an investigation into Spotify for anti-competitive practices as a deputy minister demanded legal action over 'provocative' playlists allegedly offensive to the president's wife and disrespectful of Islam. In a statement released on Friday, the competition authority said it had opened an investigation into 'various allegations that the strategies and policies implemented by Spotify... in Türkiye has caused anti-competitive effects in the music industry'. It said the probe would seek to establish whether Spotify gave more visibility to some artists and engaged in unfair practices in the distribution of royalties, thereby violating the competition law. The investigation was announced the same day as deputy culture minister Batuhan Mumcu called for legal action against Spotify in a post on X, citing its 'refusal' to respond to requests to remove playlists with names deemed offensive. 'Spotify persistently refuses to take the necessary steps despite all our previous warnings,' he wrote. 'Content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society has not been corrected,' he added, saying Türkiye had been 'closely monitoring content on Spotify for a long time'. 'Targeting... sacred values' He pointed to content published 'under the guise of 'playlists'.. that disregards our religious sensitivities toward our Prophet Mohammed, deliberately and unacceptably targeting the beliefs, sacred values, and spiritual world of our people'. He also singled out playlists allegedly targeting Emine Erdogan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which were 'insidiously provocative and morally unacceptable'. 'This irresponsibility and lack of oversight, which disregards the sensitivities of our society, has now become a legal matter.. I call on our competent institutions to take action,' he wrote. Attached to his post was an animated graphic showing a string of playlists with names referencing either Erdogan's wife or the life of the Prophet Mohammed. In a statement, Spotify, which launched in Türkiye in 2013, said its operations complied with 'all applicable laws' but it would cooperate with the investigation although it lacked 'details on the inspection's scope or focus'. 'We are cooperating with the investigation, are actively seeking to understand it, and will work toward a swift, constructive resolution with the Turkish Competition Authority,' the statement said, without making any mention of the playlist allegations. It said in 2024, it had paid 'over 2 billion Turkish lira ($25 million) to the local music industry' with its service playing a 'pivotal (role) in growing Turkish artists' royalties globally'.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Turkey opens Spotify probe after 'provocative playlist' complaint
Turkey's competition authority has launched an investigation into Spotify for anti-competitive practices as a deputy minister demanded legal action over "provocative" playlists allegedly offensive to the president's wife and disrespectful of Islam. In a statement released on Friday, the competition authority said it had opened an investigation into "various allegations that the strategies and policies implemented by Spotify... in Turkey has caused anti-competitive effects in the music industry". It said the probe would seek to establish whether Spotify gave more visibility to some artists and engaged in unfair practices in the distribution of royalties, thereby violating the competition law. The investigation was announced the same day as deputy culture minister Batuhan Mumcu called for legal action against Spotify in a post on X, citing its "refusal" to respond to requests to remove playlists with names deemed offensive. "Spotify persistently refuses to take the necessary steps despite all our previous warnings," he wrote. "Content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society has not been corrected," he added, saying Turkey had been "closely monitoring content on Spotify for a long time". - 'Targeting... sacred values' - He pointed to content published "under the guise of 'playlists'.. that disregards our religious sensitivities toward our Prophet Mohammed, deliberately and unacceptably targeting the beliefs, sacred values, and spiritual world of our people". He also singled out playlists allegedly targeting Emine Erdogan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which were "insidiously provocative and morally unacceptable". "This irresponsibility and lack of oversight, which disregards the sensitivities of our society, has now become a legal matter.. I call on our competent institutions to take action," he wrote. Attached to his post was an animated graphic showing a string of playlists with names referencing either Erdogan's wife or the life of the Prophet Mohammed. In a statement, Spotify, which launched in Turkey in 2013, said its operations complied with "all applicable laws" but it would cooperate with the investigation although it lacked "details on the inspection's scope or focus". "We are cooperating with the investigation, are actively seeking to understand it, and will work toward a swift, constructive resolution with the Turkish Competition Authority," the statement said, without making any mention of the playlist allegations. It said in 2024, it had paid "over 2 billion Turkish lira ($25 million) to the local music industry" with its service playing a "pivotal (role) in growing Turkish artists' royalties globally". bur-hmw/jj
Al Arabiya
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Arabiya
Turkey opens Spotify probe after ‘provocative playlist' complaint
Turkey's competition authority has launched an investigation into Spotify for anti-competitive practices as a deputy minister demanded legal action over 'provocative' playlists allegedly offensive to the president's wife and disrespectful of Islam. In a statement released on Friday, the competition authority said it had opened an investigation into 'various allegations that the strategies and policies implemented by Spotify... in Turkey has caused anti-competitive effects in the music industry.' It said the probe would seek to establish whether Spotify gave more visibility to some artists and engaged in unfair practices in the distribution of royalties, thereby violating the competition law. The investigation was announced the same day as deputy culture minister Batuhan Mumcu called for legal action against Spotify in a post on X, citing its 'refusal' to respond to requests to remove playlists with names deemed offensive. 'Spotify persistently refuses to take the necessary steps despite all our previous warnings. Content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society has not been corrected,' he wrote, saying Turkey had been 'closely monitoring content on Spotify for a long time.' He pointed to content published 'under the guise of 'playlists'.. that disregards our religious sensitivities toward our Prophet Mohammed, deliberately and unacceptably targeting the beliefs, sacred values, and spiritual world of our people.' He also singled out playlists allegedly targeting Emine Erdogan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which were 'insidiously provocative and morally unacceptable.' 'This irresponsibility and lack of oversight, which disregards the sensitivities of our society, has now become a legal matter.. I call on our competent institutions to take action,' he wrote. In a statement, Spotify, which launched in Turkey in 2013, said its operations complied with 'all applicable laws' but it would cooperate with the investigation although it lacked 'details on the inspection's scope or focus.' 'We are cooperating with the investigation, are actively seeking to understand it, and will work toward a swift, constructive resolution with the Turkish Competition Authority,' the statement said, without making any mention of the playlist allegations. It said in 2024, it had paid 'over 2 billion Turkish lira ($25 million) to the local music industry' with its service playing a 'pivotal (role) in growing Turkish artists' royalties globally.'
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Turkey opens Spotify probe after 'provocative playlist' complaint
Turkey's competition authority has launched an investigation into Spotify for anti-competitive practices as a deputy minister demanded legal action over "provocative" playlists allegedly offensive to the president's wife and disrespectful of Islam. In a statement released on Friday, the competition authority said it had opened an investigation into "various allegations that the strategies and policies implemented by Spotify... in Turkey has caused anti-competitive effects in the music industry". It said the probe would seek to establish whether Spotify gave more visibility to some artists and engaged in unfair practices in the distribution of royalties, thereby violating the competition law. The investigation was announced the same day as deputy culture minister Batuhan Mumcu called for legal action against Spotify in a post on X, citing its "refusal" to respond to requests to remove playlists with names deemed offensive. "Spotify persistently refuses to take the necessary steps despite all our previous warnings," he wrote. "Content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society has not been corrected," he added, saying Turkey had been "closely monitoring content on Spotify for a long time". - 'Targeting... sacred values' - He pointed to content published "under the guise of 'playlists'.. that disregards our religious sensitivities toward our Prophet Mohammed, deliberately and unacceptably targeting the beliefs, sacred values, and spiritual world of our people". He also singled out playlists allegedly targeting Emine Erdogan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which were "insidiously provocative and morally unacceptable". "This irresponsibility and lack of oversight, which disregards the sensitivities of our society, has now become a legal matter.. I call on our competent institutions to take action," he wrote. Attached to his post was an animated graphic showing a string of playlists with names referencing either Erdogan's wife or the life of the Prophet Mohammed. In a statement, Spotify, which launched in Turkey in 2013, said its operations complied with "all applicable laws" but it would cooperate with the investigation although it lacked "details on the inspection's scope or focus". "We are cooperating with the investigation, are actively seeking to understand it, and will work toward a swift, constructive resolution with the Turkish Competition Authority," the statement said, without making any mention of the playlist allegations. It said in 2024, it had paid "over 2 billion Turkish lira ($25 million) to the local music industry" with its service playing a "pivotal (role) in growing Turkish artists' royalties globally". bur-hmw/jj Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
