Europe accuses Apple of blocking third-party access to NFC technology in the iPhone

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Virtual wallets go against Apple!

PayPal and Venmo head the list of suppliers included in a formal accusation of the European Union against Apple, for the Blocking third-party access to NFC payment technology on iPhone. The complaint estimates that Apple could face charges of violating the laws of the European Union for putting obstacles to access their mobile payment system on iPhone.

Both providers appear together with the main banks that do not have access to Apple’s mobile wallet system in a lawsuit that, if successful, would be penalized with heavy penalties for the firm.

The balance of the accusing side

The ground seems to be fertile in favor of those affected, since The EU disapproves of the restrictions imposed by the Californian firm to third-party application developers to access NFC technology on the iPhone,

The Financial Times reviews that by blocking access to the NFC chip, other services such as PayPal, Venmo, banks and other financial providers, they cannot provide a similar experience to Apple Pay for iPhone users

This means that an online bank cannot program its App to use the chip so that users can pay at any counter with their PayPal balance, that is, a dominant position for Apple in the online payment market.

The exclusivity makes only Apple can enable payment with the iPhone to partners who agree to it and add your prepaid, debit, or credit cards to Apple Pay.

privacy issue

In his defense, Apple maintains that the restrictions on the chip to exchange information between two connected terminals are in force to guarantee the privacy and security of users.

The possibility of a lawsuit before the Union for unfair competition occurs at a time when Apple absorbs strong pressure to open the iPhone to third-party application stores, and even that iMessage work as a cross-platform messaging service.

This week some aspects of the “Digital Services Law”which in the short term could begin to travel the legal terrain of the EU, through the European Parliament.

As events unfolded, the European Council could force Apple to open its iPhones to other app stores and to sideloading, a measure that CEO Tim Cook says would fundamentally change the iPhone, as he has reiterated on several occasions.

The accusation for “abuse of position” is added to a package of legal problems that the Californian faces around the world for the way of managing the App Store and the handling of commissions.

A community that, although it needs Apple’s help for its projects, is getting bigger and bigger, demanding changes in its system of multiplying income with iPhone services.

Related topics: iPhone

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