Spotify Files Antitrust Complaint Against Apple in EU

   By Valentina Pop in Brussels and Sam Schechner in Paris

Music-streaming service Spotify Technology SA has filed an antitrust complaint in Europe against Apple Inc., a new salvo in a broader battle over alleged wrongdoing by tech giants.

Spotify's complaint, filed late Monday to the antitrust arm of the European Union, alleges that Apple in recent years has abused its control over what apps appear in its app store. The restrictions, Spotify claims, are designed to restrict music-streaming services that compete with Apple's own Apple Music.

Spotify claims that Apple made it difficult for rival subscription services to market themselves to users without using Apple's payment system, which generally takes a 30% cut of transactions. Spotify's app doesn't face the same restrictions on in the Play store run by Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Spotify said. Spotify also said Apple at times rejected security updates of its app and threatened to kick it out of its App Store for allegedly anticompetitive reasons.

"Apps should compete on merits, not who owns the app store," said Horacio Gutierrez, Spotify's general counsel.

Representatives of Apple and European Commission, the EU's antitrust enforcer, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Write to Valentina Pop and Sam Schechner at Valentina.Pop@wsj.com and sam.schechner@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 13, 2019 06:31 ET (10:31 GMT)

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