OREANDA-NEWS. The European Commission decided that Apple had abused its leading status as the owner of the App Store in the distribution of applications for the iPhone and iPad.

According to the Commission, which has already been brought to the attention of Apple Corporation, the use of the App Store's built-in payment mechanism, which is mandatory for all iOS applications, "hurts" competition in the sphere of music streaming.

An antitrust inquiry against Apple was started in Europe last year after Spotify approached. The Swedish streaming service has whined about Apple's licensing agreements requiring 30% of all payments from users who subscribe through the App Store.

Moreover, developers of iOS applications are banned from adding information to users that a subscription can be reached in other ways - for example, through the website. This requirement by Apple has also drawn criticism from the European Commission.

Apple sees the situation in a completely different way and called the actions of the European Commission "the opposite of just competition." "Spotify has become the largest music subscription service in the world, and we are proud of the part we played in this," Apple said in a statement from CNBC. "They want all the benefits of the App Store, but they don't feel like they have to pay for it."

The document released today by the European Commission regarding Apple company is called a "statement of objection." Its publication does not mean the end of the investigation - now the accused corporation must submit its answers to the regulator.