Spotify alleges that Apple obstructed music-streaming services from informing users about payment alternatives outside of its App Store.
The European Union has fined Apple over 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion) in an antitrust ruling following a complaint from music streaming service Spotify. Apple has promptly announced its intention to appeal the penalty, marking the first antitrust fine imposed on the company by Brussels.
The European Commission announced that the charge stemmed from a complaint filed by Spotify in 2019, alleging that Apple had hindered music-streaming services from informing users about payment options outside its App Store.
The European Union’s competition regulator asserted that Apple’s restrictions constituted unfair trading conditions, marking a relatively novel argument in an antitrust case. This line of reasoning was also utilized by the Dutch antitrust agency in a 2021 decision against Apple, prompted by dating app providers.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager remarked, “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.”
Apple criticized the EU’s decision and announced its intention to challenge it in court.
“The decision was reached despite the Commission’s failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm, and ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast,” stated the company.
“The primary advocate for this decision — and the biggest beneficiary — 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,” Apple added.
The company highlighted that Spotify, based in Sweden, does not pay any commission to Apple as it sells its subscriptions on its website rather than through Apple’s App Store.
The European Union has intensified its efforts to rein in Big Tech companies, imposing a series of multibillion-dollar fines on Google and charging Meta with distorting the online classified ad market.
Apple’s fine amounts to about a quarter of the 8.25 billion euros ($8.95 billion) that the EU regulator fined Google across three cases in the past decade.
In addition, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager has initiated a separate antitrust investigation into Apple’s mobile payments service. Apple aims to resolve this by proposing to open up its tap-and-go systems to competitors.
The directive for Apple to eliminate its App Store restrictions aligns with a requirement under new EU regulations known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which Apple must adhere to by March 7.
