The European Commission has notified Apple of yet another potential breach of EU regulations—this time concerning the geo-blocking of services such as the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and others.
The announcement from the European Commission followed a "coordinated investigation" conducted by the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, which identified "a number of restrictions" imposed by Apple that "illegally discriminate against European consumers based on their place of residence."
The crux of the issue is that Apple prevents customers from using payment cards with billing addresses that differ from the country's store. Other restrictions include varied app interfaces for different EU/EEA countries and blocking access to versions from other countries, leading to complications for customers, especially while traveling.
The list of services utilizing geo-blocking includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, iCloud, Game Center, Apple Sports, and others.
Apple has one month to respond to the allegations and propose solutions to address the identified geo-blocking practices; otherwise, the EU will resort to "enforcement methods."
It is worth noting that just a week earlier, Bloomberg reported that the EU is preparing to fine Apple for "anti-competitive rules" in the App Store—potentially up to $38 billion. Additionally, the company is required to pay 13 billion euros in unpaid taxes to the EU (Tim Cook allegedly even called Donald Trump to complain about the fines imposed on his company) and is facing an investigation regarding rules implemented for alternative applications.
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