Synopsis The European Commission, which acts as the executive for the 27-country European Union, did not say why it had dropped its case against the iPhone maker for requiring developers to use its own in-app payment system. Reuters The Commission said Apple's so-called anti-steering obligations, which prevent developers from informing users about other purchasing options, violate EU rules against unfair trading conditions EU antitrust regulators on Wednesday narrowed their case against Apple , focusing on its App Store rules that prevent developers from informing users of other purchasing options, while dropping another charge related to in-app payments. The European Commission, which acts as the executive for the 27-country European Union, did not say why it had dropped its case against the iPhone maker for requiring developers to use its own in-app payment system. However, the victory for the US tech giant will be short-lived as a new EU tech law known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will apply from May, bans both of the Apple practices investigated by the Commission, with fines of up to 10% of a company's global turnover for infringements. The Commission said Apple's so-called anti-steering obligations, which prevent developers from informing users about other purchasing options, violate EU rules against unfair trading conditions. These obligations are "neither necessary nor proportionate for the provision of the App Store on iPhones and iPads" and "are detrimental to users of music streaming services on Apple's mobile devices who may end up paying more", the EU competition enforcer said in a statement. Apple said it was pleased the Commission, which can fine it up to 10% of its global turnover for antitrust violations, had narrowed the case and it would respond to the regulator's concerns. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Spotify triggered the case against Apple by complaining about both its anti-steering mechanism and in-app payment system, leading the Commission to issue a charge sheet against Apple in April 2021. The streaming giant urged the Commission on Tuesday to issue a swift decision. The Commission said Tuesday's charge sheet, known as a statement of objections, would replace the 2021 document. Don’t miss out on ET Prime stories! Get your daily dose of business updates on WhatsApp. click here! Wednesday, 01 Mar, 2023 Experience Your Economic Times Newspaper, The Digital Way! Read Complete Print Edition » Front Page Pure Politics Companies Brands & Companies More Economy Grows at a Slower Pace of 4. 4% in Dec qtr The Indian economy grew at a slower-than-expected 4. 4% in the December quarter compared with 6. 3% in the preceding three-month period, weighed down by base normalisation and weakness in consumption. Hope It Doesn’t Take a Second Pandemic to Build Right Tools The world needs to build more tools and global institutions to tackle any future pandemic, Bill Gates, cofounder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said in an interview to ET’s Deborshi Chaki. SAP to Double India Investment in 5yrs India is “a winner” and “a bright spot” in a world that’s in turmoil, says Christian Klein, chief executive at SAP SE. The German software giant aims to double its investments in India over the next five years. Read More News on eu antitrust regulators apple eu charges apple apple eu antitrust apple app store billing app store in app billing European Commission Apple Stay on top of technology and startup news that matters. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox. . . . more less ETPrime stories of the day Blockchain Smoke without 5ire? India’s ‘fastest-growing blockchain unicorn’ and a USD1. 5 billion question. 10 mins read Logistics Why warehousing rentals have gone up by 9%, and there is room for more 7 mins read People Meet Avadhut Sathe — the man on a mission to make every Indian wealthy via stock trading 13 mins read Subscribe to ETPrime.