Spain's antitrust watchdog said Wednesday it had opened a probe into the conditions Apple imposes on developers of mobile applications sold on its App Store.

"Apple may be engaging in anti-competitive practices consisting of imposing unfair commercial terms on developers who use Apple's application shops (Apple App Store) to distribute applications to users of Apple products," the CNMC regulator said in a statement.

"These practices could be considered as a very serious infringement" of competition rules, which could lead to fines of up to 10 percent of the company's total global turnover, it added.

Apple's total revenue in the year to September 2023 stood at $383 billion (358 billion euros).

The CNMC's move comes after the European Commission warned Apple last month that its App Store rules may be violating the EU's landmark digital competition legislation, putting it at risk of hefty fines.

The commission said in a "preliminary view" that the "App Store rules... prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content".

Under the European Union's new Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple must allow developers distributing apps via the App Store to be able to inform users, free of charge, of "alternative cheaper purchasing possibilities, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases", the commission said.

This was not the case, according to the findings of the commission.

Apple said it would work with Spain's antitrust watchdog "to understand and respond to their concerns".

The App Store allows "Spanish developers of all sizes compete on a level playing field" on "a platform that is secure and trusted," an Apple spokesperson added.

© 2024 AFP