Apple, the trillion dollar tech company may have violated the EU competition commission rule and may be on the verge of incurring a multibillion-dollar fine.
The tech giant co-founded by Steve Jobs in 1976 has since been operating a monopoly business model whereby a customer would have everything they need –hardware products, software services, third-party apps, and media- without ever leaving the Apple ecosystem.
However in June 5th 2009, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by major phone manufacturers to use the micro-USB standard for charging their devices, either by installing such a port in the device or by using an adapter as a way of increasing interoperability and promoting harmonization, encouraging improvements , particularly in the area of electronic waste reduction.
Although their MoU expired at the end of 2012, the EU expressed dissatisfaction over the voluntary approach that has been in place since major phone operators have agreed to standardize on micro-USB chargers nine years ago.
Now, the commission is weighing in new options to rescue the situation. In view of this, a second MoU was signed march this year and major manufacturers also agreed to gradually transit to the new common charging solution for smartphones based on USB Type-C, the signatories were Apple, Google, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Samsung and Sony mobile
According to the second MoU, a 3-year period of pardon has been given from the date of signing, to ensure compliance from both old and new Smartphone in the EU market, although there were no penalties attached to defaulters of the MoU.
That said, Is Tim Cook’s Apple going to compromise their standards of monopoly?
You might also recall that the EU placed a $5 billion fine on Google for fitting mobile devices with pre-defined browsers that cannot be modified etc. Will they do the same to Apple?
