The European Commission has announced its decision to fine Apple with $2 billion due to its anticompetitive practices on other music streaming services.
The antitrust case was initiated by Spotify in 2019, accusing Apple of limiting practices on top of the 30% App Store fees.
Apple Faces $2 Billion Fine for Antitrust
In a press release, the Commission explained that the fine was due to Apple's restriction on app developers, preventing them from informing customers about alternative and cheaper music subscription services. The EU antitrust rules deemed the practice illegal.
"The Commission's 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 and from providing any instructions about how to subscribe to such offers," the press release stated.
More specifically, the decision is a breach of Article 102(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Apple's anti-competitive practices, which lasted for 10 years, led iOS users to pay higher prices for their subscriptions.
Apple Appeals to EU's Decisions
Apple quickly responded to the Commission's decision, citing that the company would challenge it in court. For Apple, the EU failed to provide credible evidence of consumer harm.
The company also took a jab at Spotify's market share, detailing that it holds a 56% share of the European music streaming market. Apple also reiterated that Spotify does not pay anything to them despite its success.
"A large part of their success is due to the App Store, along with all the tools and technology that Spotify uses to build, update, and share their app with Apple users around the world," Apple added.
The tech giant also mentioned that the decision is not grounded on the existing competition law since the Digital Markets Act is not yet a law.
