(Reuters) – Apple’s new fees for app developers have come under fresh scrutiny from the European Union’s antitrust regulators on concerns it could inflate costs for software makers, Bloomberg news reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The regulators have recently circulated a new round of questionnaires focusing on Apple’s new “core technology fee”, the report said.
EU’s fresh scrutiny also comes at a time when Big Tech bosses have urged President-elect Donald Trump to challenge EU’s regulatory scrutiny against American technological firms.
Apple and the European Commission did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The company’s shares were down 1.8% in early trading.
The new charge of 0.50 euros ($0.5102) per installed app levied on developers was introduced by the company to comply with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The DMA imposes what the world’s largest tech platforms can and cannot do, and can impose fines up to 10% of a company’s annual revenue.
Regulators are checking whether the re-jigged levies could be passed on to consumers, or if developers may have to tweak their own business models due to Apple’s new fee structure, the report said.
They also asked whether the firm’s prediction that the new system will help reduce costs for developers is accurate or not.
The Cupertino, California-based company has faced mounting pressure from regulators in the U.S. and Europe over the fees it charges third-party developers distributing apps through the App Store. It says 85% of developers on its App Store do not pay any commission at all.
($1 = 0.9801 euros)
(Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
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