EU AUTHORITIES OPEN TWIN APPLE ANTITRUST INVESTIGATIONS

European Union regulators opened two investigations into Apple’s mobile app store and payment platform over concerns its practices distort competition, opening a new front in the EU’s battle against the dominance of big tech companies.

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The EU’s executive Commission said it formally launched the investigations over concerns that Apple’s way of doing business hurts consumers by limiting choice and innovation and keeping prices high. Apple dismissed the complaints as “baseless.”

The commission is examining whether Apple Pay’s rules require online shops to make it the preferred or default option, effectively shutting out rival payment systems. It’s also investigating concerns that it limits access for rival payment systems to the “tap and go” wireless function on iPhones.