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Spain’s antitrust watchdog opens probe into Apple App Store

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.

Published: 24 July 2024 15:51 CEST

Spain's antitrust watchdog opens probe into Apple App Store

Spain's antitrust watchdog has opened a probe into the conditions Apple imposes on developers of mobile applications sold on its app store. (Photo by Gerard JULIEN / AFP)

“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).

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.

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Lista Robinson: What to know about Spain's opt-out option for spam calls

Spam calls are something of a problem in Spain; anyone who lives here can tell you that. The government has tried to do something about it, though rather ineffectually so far.

READ MORE: Why Spain’s law to ban spam calls has failed

It’s been a year since the Spanish government first brought in legislation to try and stop spam calls, but for practically everyone in Spain these infuriating marketing and advertising cold calls nonetheless continue.

According to a survey by consumer rights group Facua published at the beginning of July 2024, almost everyone polled (98 percent) continue to receive unsolicited sales calls.

READ ALSO: Spain to roll out another law banning cold calls by energy companies

Despite the legislation, almost seven out of ten had received more than five spam calls in the last month.

So, what can you do about it? Is there anything you can do about it?

Many in Spain turn to the Lista Robinson (Robinson List) to try and find a solution to these bothersome cold calls.

What is the Robinson List?

According to the Robinson List website: “It is a free advertising exclusion service, available to consumers, which aims to reduce the amount of advertising they receive.

The Robinson List Service falls within the scope of personalised advertising, i.e. advertising that a user receives targeted to his or her name.”

It’s a list you can add yourself to in order to exclude (or reduce) your name from these sorts of spam mail, cold calls and unsolicited advertising in the post.

It doesn’t cost anything to sign up either: “It’s a free service; there is no additional cost to join the list, nor is there any additional cost to remain on the list or to add new telephone numbers or email addresses.”

Signing up to the list is quick and easy, and you can add several different phone numbers, e-mail addresses and postal addresses.

However, although it reduces how much unwanted advertising you receive, it doesn’t completely prevent commercial calls and spam mail in the post, as there are lots of companies that simply don’t consult the list before making calls or sending advertising.

It should also be noted that the Robinson List doesn’t stop us from receiving advertising from companies with which we already have a contractual relationship. This basically means that your phone or wifi company could call you up to try and sell you a new deal or offer, and that this would be within the rules even if you’re signed up to the list.

Nor does it include companies that we gave our consent to receive advertising, something we can do in a myriad of ways without even realising we’ve done it.

All in all, being on the Robinson will likely cut the number of cold calls and amount of spam mail you receive, but it won’t stop them completely.

Note that the service is simple and free, but not immediate: it takes around 3 months from the time you sign up for the Robinson List to take effect.

How do I sign up?

Go to the Robinson List website.
Click on apúntate a la lista (sign up to the list).
Register with your details.
Once you’ve finished your registration and had it confirmed via email, you’ll be able to choose which type of calls and mail you no longer wish to receive including e-mail, telephone (mobile and landline), post and SMS/MMS messages, and add the various numbers and contact addresses you want to be excluded.

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