EU Fines Apple More Than $1.95 Billion Over Music Streaming Antitrust Practices
Apple has been fined 1.8 billion Euros by regulators in the European Union for disrupting competition among rival music streaming services. Find out the factors behind this severe punishment against the tech giant and its control over App Store policies.
- Apple has been fined 1.8 billion Euros ($1.95 billion) by competition regulators in the European Union for violations that hurt competition among rival music streaming services.
- The fine is the first-ever antitrust penalty on Apple for stopping streaming services such as Spotify from informing users about cheaper alternatives than Apple’s app store.
Regulators from the European Commission slammed Apple with a massive 1.8 billion Euro fine for violating antitrust regulations. The penalty is related to Apple potentially abusing its dominance in the app store market and controlling the distribution of music streaming apps in the region.
According to the European Commission, Apple had restricted app developers such as Spotify from informing or providing instructions to iOS users about cheaper alternatives to subscription services that may be available outside the Apple App Store.
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Apple’s first-ever penalty from the EC is the largest penalty levied by the EU on a technology company. The fine results from an investigation by the European Commission following a complaint by Spotify made in 2019. According to the investigation, Apple exploited such policies for almost a decade, leading iOS users to spend significantly higher prices because of the fees imposed on developers.
Apple’s share price fell by more than 2% following the development. However, the penalty now allows app developers to push for more developer-friendly policies by the tech giant. That said, it remains to be seen how such a fine impacts the relationship between EU regulators and Big Tech companies, which has changed drastically since the Digital Markets Act was enacted in 2023.
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