Apple faces UK antitrust investigation into App Store

The Competition and Markets Authority said it plans to investigate Apple’s potentially “dominant” position in the supply of apps on iPhones and iPads.

UK antitrust authorities said they plan to investigate Apple Inc.’s App Store to probe whether it is abusing its market power to restrict competition.

FILE PHOTO: An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo/File Photo (REUTERS)

The Competition and Markets Authority said it plans to investigate Apple’s potentially “dominant” position in the supply of apps on iPhones and iPads.

“Complaints that Apple is using its market position to set terms which are unfair or may restrict competition and choice – potentially causing customers to lose out when buying and using apps – warrant careful scrutiny,” Andrea Coscelli, who leads the CMA said in a statement Thursday.

The Apple probe comes as the UK watchdog seeks to move to the forefront of tech regulation after emerging from the shadow of EU regulators at the end of Britain’s Brexit transition.

Apple said in a statement that it looks forward to working with the CMA to “to explain how our guidelines for privacy, security and content have made the App Store a trusted marketplace for both consumers and developers.”