EU hits Apple with $2bn antitrust fine following Spotify complaint | Business and Economy News


Spotify says Apple prevented music-streaming services from informing users of payment options outside its App Store.

The EU has issued Apple with an antitrust fine of over 1.8 billion euros ($1.95bn) following a complaint by music streaming service Spotify.

The US tech giant immediately vowed on Monday to appeal the penalty. It was the first-ever antitrust fine slapped on the company by Brussels.

The European Commission announced that the charge was triggered after Spotify complained in 2019 that Apple had prevented music-streaming services from informing users of payment options outside its App Store.

The European Unionā€™s competition regulator said Appleā€™s restrictions constituted unfair trading conditions. That is a relatively novel argument in an antitrust case, but it was also used by the Dutch antitrust agency in a decision against Apple in 2021 in a case brought by dating app providers.

ā€œFor a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store,ā€ EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

ā€œThey 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.ā€

ā€˜No evidenceā€™

Apple criticised the EU decision, saying it would challenge it in court.

ā€œThe decision was reached despite the Commissionā€™s failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm, and ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast,ā€ the company said in a statement.

ā€œThe primary advocate for this decision ā€” and the biggest beneficiary ā€” is Spotify, a company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Spotify has the largest music streaming app in the world, and has met with the European Commission more than 65 times during this investigation,ā€ it said.

It said the Swedish company pays no commission to Apple as it sells its subscriptions on its website and not on Appleā€™s App Store.

Crackdown

The EU has sought to crack down on Big Tech companies, handing out a series of multibillion-dollar fines for Google and charging Meta with distorting the online classified ad market.

Appleā€™s fine is about a quarter of the 8.25 billion euro ($8.95bn) the EU regulator fined Google in three cases in the last decade.

Vestager also has opened a separate antitrust investigation into Appleā€™s mobile payments service. Apple is seeking to settle that by offering to open up its tap-and-go systems to rivals.

The order for Apple to remove its App Store restrictions echoes a requirement under new EU rules known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which Apple is required to comply with by March 7.



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