On Wednesday, Germany‘s anti-cartel watchdog said it had put US computing giant Apple under more immediate surveillance for any potential abuse of its market position.
The Federal Cartel Office said it had determined Apple to be a firm of “paramount significance for competition across markets”, the latest step that would allow it to “take action against and effectively prohibit anti-competitive practices”.
Apple joins Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Meta, the group behind Facebook, in falling under toughened monitoring made possible by the German Competition Act. The act, which came into force in January 2021, allows the cartel authority to interfere earlier, especially against the World’s tech giants.
Products like the hugely successful iPhone meant Apple presided over a wide-ranging digital ecosystem which is of great importance to competition in Germany and worldwide, Federal Cartel Office chief Andreas Mundt said in a statement.
The group handled the “access to the ecosystem and Apple customers” through software products such as the iOS operating system and its app store, Mundt said.
This outstanding position was backed by the US group’s significant financial resources, broad user base, and the strength of the Apple brand, the competition authority said.
Apple also had “privileged access to data relevant for competition” via its network of products, the agency said.
All in all, the group had a “position of power” that created the potential to act in ways “not sufficiently controlled by competition”.
In practice, the Federal Cartel Office was also looking to see whether app tracking rules could favor Apple’s offers but said that no decision has been taken on initiating further proceedings.
The agency said last week it was examining if it needed to place Apple’s rival Microsoft under increased surveillance for anti-competitive practices.
