Apple Exec Speaks Out Against EU Antitrust Investigations of App Store

An Apple executive has spoken out against the EU’s investigations into the App Store.

Earlier this month, the European Commission opened investigations into Apple’s App Store and mobile payment system Apple Pay, concerned about its role as a gatekeeper to its lucrative platform.

“We compete with a wide variety of companies, Google, Samsung, Huawei, Vivo, LG, Lenovo and many more,” Daniel Matray, head of Apple’s App Store and Apple Media Services, told a Forum Europe online event (via Bloomberg).

“In fact, Apple does not have a dominant position in any market, and we face strong competition in every category, in tablets, wearables, desktop and notebook computers, maps, music, payments, messaging, and more,” he said.

The executive noted that Apple constantly invests and innovates the App store, constantly vetting apps to make sure they reach a certain level of quality and reliability.

“Our efforts to help developers succeed are broad, deep and ongoing, and they extend to apps — in music, email, or a variety of other categories — that compete with some aspect of our business,” Matray said.

He added that 85 percent of apps don’t have to pay the Cupertino company a cut because they’re free to use or make money via other methods, namely advertising.

Matray said the App Store has overall boosted competition, rather than harmed rivals.

“In the nearly 12 years since the App Store debuted, the best measure of its success is the dynamism it has unleashed and the state of the app economy today,” he said.

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