The European Union allegedly considers fining Apple €500 million ($539 million) for limiting users' ability to access music streaming services. This would be a devastating blow for the American tech giant.
The US firm receives a substantial share of subscription fees from its app store, so the European Commission is investigating whether it prevented music streaming from informing customers about cheaper alternatives.
Apple vs. Spotify
After years of complaints from businesses whose services are offered via iPhone apps, Brussels aims to levy a punishment of $539 million, which would be a major verdict against Apple, according to the Financial Times.
In 2019, the Swedish streaming service Spotify complained to the EU, stating that Apple's 30% transaction charge in the App Store stifles innovation and competition. Another thing Apple did was stop Spotify and other businesses from telling users on their phones that they could sign up for Spotify online and skip the commission, which meant they would receive a better price overall.
The company argues that the charge is reasonable since Apple invests much in maintaining a safe app store and gives Spotify access to its user base of hundreds of millions. Spotify counters that the costs are anti-competitive since Apple Music, the company's own music streaming service, does not incur the same additional cost.
The Financial Times cites five sources familiar with the matter, saying that the European Commission would claim that Apple's actions violate EU regulations meant to maintain competition in the single market and are, hence, unlawful. Reportedly, the EU is also considering a limit on music providers' ability to block ads for cheaper subscriptions outside of the platform.
Increased Scrutiny
Due to worries about competition, large digital businesses are coming under more and more scrutiny from the EU, according to The Guardian.
In three different competition probes, the EU fined Google over €8 billion ($8.6 billion). The tech giant is appealing the decision.
The Fortnite creator Epic Games sued Apple, arguing that the app store constituted an unlawful monopoly. Epic, however, was successful in a similar case against Google, the company that runs the Android mobile phone software, in December 2023.
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