CMA closes its investigation into Apple's app payments "on grounds of administrative priority"

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has closed its investigation into Apple's in-app payment system "on the grounds of administrative priority".

In a statement posted to the gov.uk website, the CMA said it no longer considered the investigation a priority but stressed that the case's closure "does not constitute a decision by the CMA".

"The CMA will continue to monitor Apple's conduct in the market. Its decision to close the case on grounds of administrative priority does not prevent, pre-judge or fetter the CMA's ability, if appropriate, to open an investigation [...] in [the] future, or to take action in respect of the conduct considered as part of the investigation".

The statement comes over three years after the CMA commenced an investigation into the distribution of apps on iOS in the UK and a market study into "mobile ecosystems".

The final report, which was released in June 2022, "identified a number of potential harms from Apple's requirements on certain developers to use their proprietary payment system to process in-app purchases for digital content, which could be avoided if app developers were able to choose their own payments service providers and transact directly with users".

After assessing a continuation of the investigation, the CMA said as it generally prioritises cases by the strategic significance of its work, it was conscious that this is "a fast-moving area" and any enforcement under the UK's Competition Act would "potentially take a significant period of time". It also noted that it will soon also have the option to consider firms' conduct in digital markets under the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act (DMCC) 2024, which would allow it to address issues "in a more timely, holistic, and flexible manner".

Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney has said he has "no regrets" over his company's decision to break Apple and Google's terms of service back in August 2020 - something that saw the hugely popular Fortnite booted off both iPhone and Android storefronts.

Last month, Epic referred Apple to the European Commission for rejecting its notarisation submission, alleging Apple's refusal is "arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA)".

The following day, Epic Games updated its statement to confirm that Apple has now accepted its submission, but did not reveal if it had rescinded its call for the European Commission to investigate its "concerns" at that time.