The European Union fined Apple $1.95 billion (€1.8 billion) Monday after ruling that the company abused its market dominance to harm music streaming providers on its iPhone and iPad app stores, the latest in a series of regulatory clashes between the bloc and the iPhone maker.
The EU's $1.95 billion fine against Apple is the latest in a series of regulatory clashes between ... [+]
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, said its probe found Apple “applied restrictions” on app makers that prevented them from informing iPhone and iPad users about “alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app.”
The agency deemed Apple’s behavior illegal under EU antitrust rules.
The regulator said Apple’s conduct “lasted for almost ten years” and it may have forced iOS users to pay more for streaming subscriptions because of the company’s commission fee on all in-app transactions.
Apple takes a 30% cut of all transactions—including subscriptions—purchased from inside an app on iOS and iPadOS devices, which causes app makers to charge higher subscription fees for users who choose to subscribe to their services from within the app.
The regulator noted that Apple bans developers from informing users about cheaper subscriptions outside the app or providing any links to the same.
Music streaming provider Spotify, which has been one of the most vocal critics of Apple’s App Store policies, hailed the EU’s decision saying: “This decision sends a powerful message—no company, not even a monopoly like Apple, can wield power abusively to control how other companies interact with their customers…Apple’s rules muzzled Spotify and other music streaming services from sharing with our users directly in our app about various benefits”
This is a developing story.