What was the origin of the demand?
Apple announced in January that it would begin changing the way its iOS operating system, Safari browser and App Store operate in the 27 EU countries. He said he was doing so to comply with the DMA, the European rule that clamps down on anti-competitive practices online within the community bloc.
However, the European authority said the measures announced by Apple involved unfair trading conditions, a relatively novel argument in an antitrust case and also used by the Dutch antitrust agency in a decision against Apple in 2021 in a case brought by app providers. quotes.
Why was the fine so high?
The fine eclipsed the €500 million that sources with knowledge of the matter expected the Commission to impose on Apple. The regulator said in a statement that it added an additional lump sum as a “deterrent” to Apple and because a significant part of the punished practices resulted in a total of 1.84 billion euros, 0.5% of Apple’s global turnover.
How did Apple react?
In response to Monday’s ruling, Apple criticized the decision and announced that it will appeal. EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said this was the first time the Commission had added a deterrent sum on top of an antitrust fine.
“For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for distributing streaming music applications through the App Store,” Vestager said in a statement.
“They did this by preventing developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem. “This is illegal under EU antitrust rules,” he added.
When will this process end?
Apple on Monday received an EU antitrust fine of 1.84 billion euros ($2 billion) for “preventing Spotify and other music streaming services from informing users about payment options outside of their App Store.”
The European Commission’s decision was prompted by a 2019 complaint from Swedish music streaming service Spotify about this restriction and Apple’s 30% App Store fees.
Vestager ordered Apple to remove anti-steering provisions and refrain from similar practices in the future.
Apple criticized the EU decision and said it would challenge it in court. A ruling by the Luxembourg-based General Court, the second highest in Europe, is likely to take several years. Until then, Apple will have to pay the fine and comply with the EU order.
“The decision was made despite the Commission’s failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm and ignores the realities of a market that is prosperous, competitive and rapidly growing,” the company said in a statement.
The role of Spotify (according to Apple)
“The main supporter of 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 says.
“The decision was made even though the Commission failed to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm and ignores the realities of a market that is prosperous, competitive and growing rapidly,” the company said in a statement.
He said the Swedish company does not pay commission to Apple since it sells its subscriptions on its website and not in Apple’s App Store.
Apple’s fine is about a quarter of the €8.25 billion fines the EU regulator imposed on Alphabet’s Google in three cases over the past decade.
EL(Reuters, dpa)