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EU will investigate Apple following Spotify’s antitrust claims

In March Spotify and Apple got into a bit of a spate after the pair called one another out over pricing of an in-app feature.

More specifically it is the fact that Spotify would have to pay Apple 30 percent of each subscription when a user converted from the free version of the music streaming platform to the premium variant.

Apple issued a response shortly after Spotify’s antitrust claims, with little news developing since, until now.

Now the European Union has seen fit to step in and begin an investigation into Spotify’s claims, according to a Financial Times (paywall) report.

The publication says that EU officials surveyed Spotify customers following the complaint, along with rival platforms, before deciding to launch their own investigation which is set to begin in a few weeks.

Precisely what the findings of those surveys were, however, is unclear.

While the investigation is likely to begin later this month, it’s probably going to take a year or more to resolve, as The Verge notes.

This as the penalty for infringing upon trust laws in the region could result in a fine up to 10 percent of Apple’s global revenue. As such the EU needs to be thorough in its investigation, and be 100 percent certain of its findings.

We’ve already seen that the EU has no qualms about going after big tech companies, having recently imposed a €8.2 billion fine on Google for Android-related antitrust violations.

Whether Apple will look to change its policy, despite believing that it’s not int he wrong regarding Spotify’s claims, in order to stop the investigation, remains to be seen.

Nevertheless this saga has only just begun.

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