LONDON (AP) — It’ll likely take years before the U.S. government’s massive antitrust lawsuit against Apple is resolved — but the iPhone maker’s troubles with European regulators offer a glimpse of what changes American customers may see down the line.

The lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. aims to prevent the company from unfairly damaging rival technologies in areas like streaming, messaging, and digital payments. Additionally, the Department of Justice wants to ensure that Apple cannot use its contracts with developers, accessory makers, and consumers to gain or maintain a monopoly.

These are comparable to concepts that have been disputed between the European Commission, the leading regulatory body of the bloc, and Apple for a number of years.

The European Union’s antitrust regulators have initiated several cases alleging that Apple has breached the competition laws of the 27-member bloc. Additionally, they have implemented strict digital regulations in an effort to prevent technology companies from dominating digital markets.

The actions taken by Brussels will soon begin to affect the company’s operations and the user experience for iPhone users in Europe. These changes may also indicate future changes for Apple users in the U.S., if the Justice Department has its way.

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Users of music streaming services often did not have the option to directly pay for their Spotify subscriptions using their iPhone apps. Additionally, they were not able to receive information via email from Spotify or other music streaming platforms about subscription prices, promotions, and offers. This is due to Apple enforcing strict guidelines on apps that compete with their own Apple Music service.

After Spotify raised concerns with the European Union, regulators launched a lengthy investigation that ultimately required Apple to cease this conduct. Additionally, the company was issued a hefty 1.8 billion euro ($2 billion) penalty as a deterrent against future violations.

Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s competition chief, said Apple’s practices were “illegal” and “impacted millions of European consumers who were not able to make a free choice as to where, how and at what price to buy music streaming subscriptions.”

Apple attempted to address a second complaint from the European Union regarding antitrust issues by offering to allow external mobile wallet and payment service providers access to the tap-and-go payment feature on its iOS operating system.

In 2022, the European Commission, which is responsible for enforcing antitrust laws in the bloc, accused Apple of using its dominant market position to restrict access to its mobile payment technology. As a result, Apple made a concession to the Commission.

The investigation focused on whether Apple Pay’s regulations force e-commerce platforms to prioritize or automatically use it, ultimately blocking out competing payment methods. The commission also looked into concerns that it restricts the ability of other payment systems to use the contactless payment feature on iPhones.

The commission is currently considering the offer, and has been gathering input from “interested parties” before reaching a decision on the matter.

Apple has consistently asserted that there can only be a single app marketplace, specifically its own, on iPhones and other iOS devices. However, a comprehensive array of new regulations from the EU, which have recently gone into effect, have compelled the company to unlock its restricted “walled garden” and permit third-party app stores to enter the competition.

The Digital Markets Act introduced by the EU is a comprehensive set of guidelines aimed at regulating Big Tech companies that act as “gatekeepers”. It outlines a list of requirements and restrictions that these companies must adhere to. A main objective of this act is to disrupt monopolistic tech ecosystems that limit consumer choice to a single company’s offerings.

Under the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), technology companies will no longer have the power to prohibit consumers from communicating with businesses outside of their own platforms. As a result, Apple has been compelled to permit users in Europe to access iPhone applications from stores that are not managed by the U.S. tech titan, a decision they had previously opposed.

The actions of EU regulators show their hesitancy when it was announced that they wanted to interview Apple regarding allegations that they hindered Epic Games’ attempt to create their own app store for their popular game Fortnite. However, Apple eventually changed their stance and allowed Epic to establish their own competing app store.

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This story was contributed to by Barbara Ortutay, an AP journalist.

Source: wral.com