spheric

9secondkox2 said:

Since apple hasn’t broken any laws that they could use against them, they just INVENT some. It’s criminal

Waiting for the USA to finally step up and go to bat for American companies operating overseas. 

Otherwise this kind of extortion will continue everywhere unchecked. 

9secondkox2 said:

spheric said:

lowededwookie said:

avon b7 said:

foregoneconclusion said:

The EU is desperate to collect a penalty fee. In the U.S. legal system, Spotify wouldn't have had the standing to complain since they had already moved 99% of their iOS subscribers to web payments WITHOUT needing any kind of in-app communication. Nothing about their financial reality supported the complaint. Not the revenue part of it or the communication part of it. 

If confirmed, it would be a penalty fee but not because the EU is desperate to collect anything. 

It would be a penalty fee for illegal business practices. 

It's not only about Spotify. They lodged the formal complaint but the formal investigation covers the impact of those practices throughout the developer world and on consumers

In this case it is accused (among other things) of contractually forbidding developers of notifying users of cheaper external options. 

Doesn't that read as being openly anti-competitive? Do you consider it fair?

No it’s not anti-competitive. The simple fact of the matter, and one the EU is purposefully ignoring, is that Apple doesn’t have to compete against itself by law. They are Apple’s devices and Apple’s systems. Apple can legally do whatever it wants on their systems.

If you come to my house I expect you to obey my house rules just like I would for your house. Why all of a sudden is it illegal for Apple to set the rules for its house?

What on Earth makes you think that you can legally do whatever you want in your house, just because it’s your house? 

Of course the laws of the country/state/city where your house stand still apply to your conduct within the house. 

Apple by law does not have to "compete against itself". Apple does, however, by law have to enable — or at least not actively hinder — others to compete against them. 

lowededwookie said:

In New Zealand we have a term for this sort of behaviour. It’s called “Tall Poppy Syndrome”. It comes from the saying “the tallest poppy is the first to see the lawnmower”.

Everyone was fine when Apple was the underdog. They mocked Apple when it had no market share. Then they sold the iPod and then they sold music and then they sold the iPhone which disrupted so many business models that were screwing over the consumer.

Apple now started to gain market share because people loved their devices because they were getting more of what they wanted.

So rather than move with the times EU companies like Nokia sought to cut down the Apple tree. Only when they tried they died.

The nature of antitrust legislation is that it only applies when you’re big enough to use your market power to illegally disadvantage your competitors. 

That is the entire point. 

Of course it doesn’t apply to "the underdog".

Actually, there is unilateral application. If a law was broken, then corrective action is taken. If no laws were broken, all is well. 

Or that’s how it’s SUPPOSED to be. 

Antitrust is when a large corp unfairly uses its established power to thwart smaller businesses. 

In Apples case, there is zero evidence of that anywhere. 

9secondkox2 said:

Funny how nothing apple does is illegal. 

Then the eu just invents laws designed only to hurt apple. 

How dare they be successful and ensure they get their just due from platform partners. 

lowededwookie said:

spheric said:

foregoneconclusion said:

The EU is desperate to collect a penalty fee. In the U.S. legal system, Spotify wouldn't have had the standing to complain since they had already moved 99% of their iOS subscribers to web payments WITHOUT needing any kind of in-app communication. Nothing about their financial reality supported the complaint. Not the revenue part of it or the communication part of it. 

Yes, with a nominal GDP of almost US$20 trillion projected for 2024, I'm sure they're desperate to collect 500 million Euro from a company violating existing antitrust laws. 

Apple hasn’t broken any laws. The only laws that Apple appears to have broken are recent laws designed to punish Apple for being successful. Those laws didn’t exist at the time the EU went after Apple.

Incidentally, remember when they created a law forcing a standard power supply being USB-C? They claim Apple was filling their rubbish dumps with their leads. Only, Apple has only ever had 3 leads for their iPhones. 30-pin Dock connector, Lightning, and now USB-C. How many different charger leads existed on the EU’s beloved Nokia? Oh that’s right, there was a different power plug for every single model of Nokia phone until they settled on that crappy USB-Micro connector.