European Commission Has Fined Apple Over €1.8 Billion Over Anti-Trust Violations

canopic jug writes:

Some sites are reporting on the European Commission's enforcement of anti-trust regulations against Apple over their abuse of their app store. The European Commission has fined Apple over 1.8 billion for abuse of its app store for having placed restrictions over the last decade on app developers to prevent them from even informing iOS users about alternative, cheaper music subscription services, a restriction which is illegal.

Apple has been hit with a fine of 1.84 billion (about $2 billion) by European Union antitrust regulators over its App Store rules, and has been told it cannot stop music services from advertising cheaper subscription deals outside of Apple's store. News of today's fine was earlier reported by the Financial Times, and comes ahead of Apple's huge shakeup of the iPhone's app distribution rules due to the EU's Digital Markets Act.

Apple hit with first-ever EU fine following Spotify complaint, The Verge

Deezer has issued a statement praising the European Commission's $1.95B+ fine for Apple breaking antitrust rules. However, it says the company's newly implemented rules are aimed at circumventing the spirit of the Digital Markets Act.

Deezer Says the EU $1.95B Fine Isn't Enough to Reign in Apple, Digital Music News

The fine originates in a legal complaint filed with the European Commission by Spotify in 2019, challenging the restrictions and fees Apple places on developers listing their apps in the App Store. Today the European Commission agreed, saying that Apple's App Store restrictions amount to unfair trading conditions that may have led iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions.

"For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store," said Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition chief, in a statement. "They did so by restricting developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem."

Apple Fined $2 Billion as Europe Sides With Spotify, Wired

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