Apple has been hit with a fine of $2 billion by the European Union Commission over abusive app store rules for music streaming providers.
This decision comes after five years when Spotify complained about Apple’s App Store practices. Apple has also been told that it cannot stop music service providers from advertising cheaper subscription deals outside of the App Store. Last month, we reported this news about the fine. It was reported that the EU commission could fine Apple about 500 million pounds. But the actual fine is about four times that.
The EU Commission released a press release on Monday and said its investigation found that “Apple bans music streaming app developers from fully informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app.” The company also prevents them from sharing instructions on how to subscribe to cheaper offers.
Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president in charge of competition policy, said “For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store. They did so by restricting developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules, so today we have fined Apple over €1.8 billion.”
The commission also emphasized they took the duration and gravity of the infringement when deciding on the fine. They also considered Apple’s total turnover and market capitalization, while also factoring in the incorrect information submitted by Apple during the administrative process.
“This decision sends a powerful message — no company, not even a monopoly like Apple, can wield power abusively to control how other companies interact with their customers,” Spotify said in a statement after the news from the EU.
Apple also issued a statement about the fine and said that the commission failed to “uncover any credible evidence” of consumer harm or anti-competitive behavior. Apple also said that Spotify pays nothing to Apple and now they want to rewrite the rules of the App Store.
This five-year battle between Apple and Spotify has culminated in a win for Spotify. But Apple is not backing down, they want to appeal the decision.
