In Great Britain, as throughout Northern Europe, the walled garden is an institution. It protects against animals, intruders and, above all, the cold gusts that sweep across Scotland. In the digital world, walled gardens have also sprung up to protect against the ill winds. The most famous is Apple's. It's easy to get into, but harder to get out of, because the brand's various devices are linked by proprietary software that is rarely, if ever, used on non-Apple devices.

Of course, visitors who want to offer their services to users of all these household objects, starting with the iPhone, are welcome, but they have to pay the high price and not try to set up shop next door. This is particularly true of the millions of developers who offer their software on the brand's application store, the App Store.

Spotify, the world leader in online music, must pay Apple nearly 30% of the revenues it generates via this store. What's more, Apple is said to have deliberately blocked its initiatives to encourage customers to install its application without going through the App Store. In response, Spotify filed a complaint with the European Commission in 2019. The Commission launched an investigation in 2020 and, according to the Financial Times, decided to fine Apple almost $500 million (around €463.7 million). This news could be announced in early March.

Disciplining the oligopoly

Brussels is determined to break down the garden walls of the internet giants, which it rightly calls "gatekeepers," that is, those whose platforms are so powerful that they can impose their conditions on service providers. Its new Digital Markets Act provides the tools needed to limit the power of companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon.

It is not alone in trying to discipline this oligopoly. In California, Apple lost a legal battle against video game publisher Epic, which, like Spotify, wants to offer iPhone users an alternative to the App Store. Epic even has ambitions to create its own application store within Apple phones. The Supreme Court put an end to the legal proceedings in January.

This is particularly problematic for the company founded by Steve Jobs, as it touches on its historical strategic vision and current constraints. Since its creation, the company has closely combined software and computers, services and hardware, to optimize their operation. What's more, services, which account for $85 billion in annual sales, are its main growth driver in the face of a saturated smartphone market. Having the most beautiful garden in the world brings envy, but also responsibility.