This came to light following a joint investigation by the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC), which identified multiple potentially prohibited practices by Apple within its digital services.

The investigation found that Apple's App Store, iTunes Store, Arcade, Books, Podcasts, and Apple Music services restrict consumers to payment methods from the country where their Apple account is registered. Furthermore, users face significant challenges when attempting to download apps available in other EU and European Economic Area (EEA) countries. The interfaces of these services are also region-specific, contributing to these geo-blocking issues.

According to the CPC Network, "consumers are only allowed to access the interface made for the country where they have registered their Apple account," which contravenes the EU's anti-geo-blocking rules. These rules specifically prohibit the discriminatory treatment of customers based on their nationality or country of residence.

"We are stepping up the fight against geo-blocking. No company, big or small, should unjustly discriminate customers based on their nationality, place of residence, or place of establishment," declared European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a press release.

Apple now has one month to propose commitments to resolve these geo-blocking concerns. Failure to do so could result in enforcement measures, which could include penalties up to four percent of Apple's global annual turnover. This isn't the first time Apple has faced such scrutiny; the company was previously fined €1.84 billion (about $2 billion) for antitrust violations, with another potential penalty for "anti-steering" practices looming at up to $38 billion.

The outcome of this issue will be closely watched as it could have broader implications for how digital services operate within the EU.