Government Regulators Not Sure Apple Is Playing Fair In The Streaming Game
The company may be pushing competing services to abandon their free-tier plans.
By Elias Leight
The battle between streaming services is heating up yet again. In April, The Financial Times reported that Apple was being investigated by the European Trade Commission for its interactions with record labels. Now according to The Verge, the same thing is happening on this side of the Atlantic: the Federal Trade Commission and the department of justice are scrutinizing the company for possibly pushing competing streaming services—especially Spotify and YouTube—to get rid of their free streaming option, mainly by putting pressure on major labels not to renew licenses. Apple is expected to unveil a new streaming service of its own in June—and like Tidal, it won't offer a free tier.