Published
Mon, Mar 4, 2024, 18:30
- The tech giant is accused of anti-competitive behaviour and unfair trading practices.
The European Commission fined Apple €1.8 billion today, March 4th, for abusing "its dominant position" in the music streaming market.
Concluding an investigation that began in June 2020, officials said the tech behemoth engaged in what it called "anti-steering," i.e. it banned app developers from informing Apple users about alternative music subscription services outside of Apple's in-house App Store.
By blocking users from learning about cheaper platforms, including pricing information, the US company brought higher costs to its customers, officials explained in a statement. "iOS users may have paid significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions because of the high commission fee imposed by Apple on developers and passed on to consumers in the form of higher subscription prices for the same service on the Apple App Store."
This is Apple’s first antitrust fine from the European Union and marks one of the bloc's biggest penalties on a technology company. In 2019, Spotify complained about Apple preventing the Swedish service and others from informing users of payment options outside the App Store, which led to the European Commission investigation.
Responding to the fine, Apple said in a statement that it will appeal the decision. Today's landmark ruling failed to reveal "any credible evidence of consumer harm," the consumer giant stated, adding that all developers "compete on a level playing field on the App Store."
Spotify "wants to bend the rules in their favor by embedding subscription prices in their app without using the App Store’s In-App Purchase system," Apple continued. The streaming firm "wants to use Apple’s tools and technologies, distribute on the App Store, and benefit from the trust we’ve built with users — and to pay Apple nothing for it."
We'll report more on this story as it unfolds.