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EU formalizes UK iTunes pricing investigation
By Simon Taylor

The European Commission, the European Union's (E.U.'s) antitrust regulator, confirmed on Friday it has launched an investigation into whether Apple Computer Inc. is overcharging its British customers for music downloads.

A spokesman for the Commission issued a statement saying an inquiry has been started into allegations that prices for downloads from Apple's iTunes Web site in the U.K. are substantially higher than prices for similar services on the company's French and German Web sites.

The Commission is also examining whether U.K. customers are prevented from downloading the same tracks from non-U.K.-based sites, the statement said. Under E.U. competition law it is illegal to segment the pan-European market into national territories in an attempt to obtain higher prices from customers in a specific country.

The inquiry follows a complaint by U.K. consumers' rights organization Which? in September 2004 that found U.K. iPod users were paying €1.14 (US$1.51) per download while prices in France and Germany were €0.99.

The complaint was brought by Which? to the U.K.'s competition authority, the Office of Fair Trading, which referred the matter in December to the Commission. Under E.U. law the Commission is responsible for cases with effects in more than one member state.

Posted February 25, 2005 05:23 PM |