Telegram complained to the European Union about the App Store

Telegram, founded by Pavel Durov, has filed an antitrust complaint with the EU regulator against the App Store, reported . the Financial Times

The complaint to the name of the European commissioner for antitrust regulation Margrethe Vestager demands that Apple "provide users with the ability to download applications other than the App Store."

As an example of limiting competition and “monopolistic power”, Apple Telegram cites its forced abandonment of the development of the gaming platform in 2016. Then the American company considered it a violation of the rules of the App Store, and the messenger was forced to curtail the project. "For the same reason, Apple may allow a whopping 30% commission on the turnover of all apps in the App Store, including but not limited to in-app sales and premium features," the complaint reads.

• The moment for the attack was chosen well: just the day before, the US Congress interrogated the owners and leaders of the largest American technology companies: Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple. Congressmen also blamed Apple for profiting from the commission and not even excluding its increase. The investigation may result in new antitrust restrictions.

• Telegram's complaint is not the only antitrust complaint against the App Store to the European regulator, the FT notes: Tile (Bluetooth trackers), Spotify (streaming) and Rakuten (e-books) made about the same claims.

• Durov has been vocal in recent weeks against Apple and its app store commissions. Last time, he named seven reasons why a 30% commission should outrage not only developers, but also users. At the same time, Durov promised that in order to fight the “Apple monopoly”, his team would participate in discussions with EU regulators.

• Recently, the European regulator lost a key lawsuit against Apple, which threatened the company with an additional 13 billion euros in taxes. This decision was seen in the world as a personal defeat for Vestager.