EU closes antitrust probe into Apple’s e-book and audiobook rules after complaint withdrawn

The European Commission (EC) has quietly closed a longstanding antitrust investigation into Apple over rules it enforces against third-party e-book and audiobook app developers.

The EC opened the probe back in 2020 after receiving complaints over how Apple forced competing e-book and audiobook app developers to use Apple’s own in-app payment system, while also preventing them from informing customers of alternative ways to pay — a practice known as anti-steering. The EC opened a parallel investigation into similar practices vis à vis music-streaming apps, a move prompted by complaints made by Spotify.

For the music-streaming part, Apple was hit by a $2 billion fine in March. However, the undisclosed complainant in the e-book / audiobook aspect of the investigation has since withdrawn their complaint, leading the Commission to close the probe with no further action.

“The closure of an investigation is not a finding that the conduct in question complies with EU competition rules,” the announcement clarified.