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US: Senator backs FTC investigation into Apple Music

By  |  July 23, 2015

Apple Music is a subject of concern for Sen. Al Franken and for the group Consumer Watchdog.

Apple’s streaming-music service may have debuted only a few weeks ago, but already one senator is concerned that the iPhone maker could become a dominant, anticompetitive force.

US Senator Al Franken on Wednesday issued a letter to the US Federal Trade Commission requesting that it investigate Apple’s dealings in the streaming-music market. The Democrat from Minnesota expressed misgivings that the company’s recent launch of its Apple Music streaming service, coupled with its iOS software and its App Store, could pose unnecessary challenges for rivals and potentially limit choices and raise costs for consumers.

“Apple’s position as a dominant platform operator may actually undermine many of the potential consumer benefits of its entry into the market,” Franken wrote in his letter to the FTC.

Full content: Silicon Beat

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