The European Commission has said it was launching an investigation into Apple's App Store for alleged anti-competitive practices.

The investigation relates to the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is aimed at stopping powerful digital "gatekeepers" abusing their positions as intermediaries between businesses and customers.

A Commission statement said it was looking into the practice of charging alternative app stores and app developers a fee each time an iPhone user installs their software.

According to the Commission's preliminary findings, the iPhone maker had breached the DMA.

The statement said it would also examine the steps that Apple device users have to go through to use an alternative app provider.

Brussels said Apple's App Store rules appeared to prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content.

It would additionally investigate Apple's eligibility criteria for developers to supply iPhone apps via the web rather than through its own app store.