Apple has been named the first of so-called “gatekeepers” in the tech industry to be charged with violating the EU's digital markets law. In a press release this morning, the European Commission argued that Apple's App Store rules “prevent app developers from freely directing consumers to alternative channels for offers and content,” preventing developers from providing pricing information to customers within their apps or telling customers about offers available outside the App Store. Penalties for violations of the DMA, which came into force earlier this year to promote competition in the digital advertising, online search and app ecosystems, can stretch to 10% of global annual turnover, and even 20% in cases of severe repeat offenses. This means that Apple could be fined up to $38 billion, which is no small punishment.
Apple was one of six tech giants named “gatekeepers” by the European Commission last year, alongside Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft. We continue to follow the EU's attempts to ensure a competitive market, but that's not all we covered on this morning's Equity podcast. This morning's show was hosted by Rebecca Bellan, who reported that X still has a verified bot problem, but this time TechCrunch writers (including herself) are being targeted. This experience led us to wonder if X's competitors will go further and build safer, less bot-prone platforms.
Rebecca also did an IPO update for our listeners this morning, as Shein has finally filed for an IPO in London. And we rounded out our startup coverage with Sir Jack-A-Lot's private investment startup. AfterHour, a startup that recently raised a $4.5 million seed round, has us excited about the private investment trading space and its continued growth.
Finally, Haje closed out today's show with a breakdown of Feel Therapeutics, a startup that recently raised $3.5 million in seed funding to revolutionize mental healthcare with a scientific approach that integrates wearable devices, mobile apps, and clinician dashboards. Press play to hear how they're doing it.
Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo and posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and allcasts.
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