The European Commission (EC) is investigating Apple’s termination of Epic Games’ developer account under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The move comes after Apple announced the termination on March 6th. Specifically, Apple said it would terminate Epic Games Sweden’s developer account globally, calling the Fortnite maker “verifiably untrustworthy.” Moreover, Apple claims that because of Epic’s previous contractual infractions, courts granted the iPhone maker the authority to end the accounts of any of Epic’s subsidiaries.
It’s worth noting that Epic previously announced plans to launch a third-party app store for iOS in the EU, something it can do now under the new DMA regulations. However, the termination of Epic’s developer account puts a major roadblock in the company’s path.
In response to the termination, Epic said:
“In terminating Epic’s developer account, Apple is taking out one of the largest potential competitors to the Apple App Store. They are undermining our ability to be a viable competitor and they are showing other developers what happens when you try to compete with Apple or are critical of their unfair practices.”
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has also publicly criticized Apple’s plans to comply with the DMA. In an email sent to Epic from Apple executive Phil Schiller said the company’s decision was motivated by Sweeney’s “colourful criticism” of Apple’s DMA compliance.
Now, the EC is looking into the mess and is evaluating whether Apple’s actions might have breached other EU laws.
This isn’t the only issue driving tensions between Apple and the EC this week. The commission just fined Apple billions over antitrust concerns related to music streaming platforms.
Source: Financial Times Via: MacRumors
