The European Union has dropped its preliminary antitrust investigation into Apple over the weekend. Citing Apple’s recent relaxing of restrictions on the use of third party development tools for developing iOS apps and the introduction of cross-European warranty services, the competition commission ended its probe satisfied with the changes Apple had made. It began its investigation in the spring of 2010, specifically looking at the App Store and iPhone restrictions. Previously, Apple announced that it would only allow developers to use its own development tools to develop iOS apps, sparking controversy between Apple and Adobe. It was seen by many as a direct attempt to block the porting of Flash applications onto the iOS platform.
The commission was also investigating Apple’s restrictions on the warranty service for iPhones, which only allowed repair in the country where the iPhone was purchased. Such territorial restrictions within the European Union are considered illegal.
“Apple’s response to our preliminary investigations shows that the commission can use the competition rules to achieve swift results on the market with clear benefits for consumers, without the need to open formal proceedings,” said Joaquin Almunia, the Competition Commissioner.
Article via The Wall Street Journal
