Lesley Hannah, a partner at Hausfeld's London office, said: “Big Tech and in particular companies like Apple, which preference their own services or reserve markets to themselves, are coming under increased regulatory scrutiny worldwide. The UK’s Digital Markets Taskforce is consulting on measures to remove obstacles to competition in digital markets, with new measures for platforms with “strategic market status” expected to be published later this year.

If the case, this would violate the UK Competition Act of 1998. The investigation’s ultimate objective is to determine whether Apple subjects developers to unfair terms and offers consumers less choice or higher prices as a consequence. The initial stage of the investigation will run until September 2021 and focus on gathering, analysing and reviewing information and the issuance of formal and informal requests for information. Apple levies a standard 30 percent charge on all App Store purchases, including in-app purchases. The investigation specifically targets the tech giant’s App Store, which is the only way third-party developers may distribute apps they create on iPhones or iPads. The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) announced on Thursday it is investigating a potential abuse of a dominant market position by Apple.

Competition watchdog investigates store