Spotify’s Complaint Has Resulted: Apple Fined $538 Million!
Apple has been fined for the first time by the European Commission. The EU commission accused Apple of monopolizing the music market. Here are the details!
According to a report published by the Financial Times, Apple is about to be fined by the EU commission for the first time. According to the report, the fine is expected to be around 500 million euros (approximately 538 million dollars).
The decision comes as a result of litigation that began after Spotify filed a formal complaint in 2019.
The European Union commission believes that Apple has acted illegally by preventing music streaming apps like Spotify from telling customers about other ways to subscribe to their services and thus avoid Apple’s commission on in-app purchases.
Apple’s App Store Policy Costs Apple dearly
Apple has been referred to as the App Store’s anti-steering provisions. Although anti-steering provisions apply more broadly, this EU investigation is specifically concerned with the effects of App Store policy on music streaming.
Essentially, Apple’s mandatory commission and the services’ restrictions on telling users about alternative payment methods mean that Apple Music is unfairly favored over third-party competitors. This is the EU’s argument in a nutshell.
The forthcoming EU ruling will not force Apple to allow alternative in-app payment methods, but will insist that music streaming app developers can freely link to their websites to subscribe online. The EU’s ruling on the music streaming case is expected to be officially announced in the coming weeks, so we will know all the details then.
In 2022, Apple relaxed anti-steering provisions for reader apps, allowing companies to add links to their own websites. Spotify also falls under this rule, as it wants to link to its website to offer subscribers different tiers of subscriptions.
The EU investigation is also assessing Apple’s previous behavior. The Digital Market Act, which comes into force next month, will allow Spotify to use alternative payment methods in the EU.
However, Apple will continue to charge a commission and a “core technology fee” if Spotify remains listed on the App Store. Finally, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek called the terms unenforceable.
