US Justice Department and FTC looking into Apple's new subscription policy

Apple unveiled its new app store subscriptions earlier this week with a decent amount of controversy and even an official statement from Rhapsody saying it would not comply with the new regulations. The new policy requires any company offering subscription services to offer the same service, at the same price (or less) through Apple, with Apple skimming 30 percent off the top. It also no longer allows apps to have links to external sites where purchases can be made. Now, reports the Wall Street Journal, antitrust enforcers in the US are having a preliminary look into the new arrangement. So, what does that mean? Well, these kinds of pre-investigations are pretty common, so it could mean nothing at all. Or, it could lead to a more formal investigation into if the policy violates antitrust laws. When asked for comment on the story, unsurprisingly, no one at Apple, the FTC, or the Justice Department would comment. We'll keep our eyes on this one and let you know if anything more exciting happens.US Justice Department and FTC looking into Apple's new subscription policy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Wall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

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