Apple fined nearly $2 billion by EU for ‘blocking’ alternative music apps

After months of speculation, the European Commission has officially fined Apple for a much larger amount than initially expected. Apple faces paying a €1.8 billion ($1.95 billion) fine for restricting alternative music streaming apps on the App Store, the EU’s first fine against Apple and the third largest ever announced by the company fine. An investigation was first launched in 2020 after Spotify filed a complaint alleging that Apple took steps to suppress the music service because it competed with iTunes and Apple Music.

The committee announced that “Apple prohibits music streaming app developers from fully informing iOS users of alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app and from providing any instructions on how to subscribe to such services.” This was The practice, known as anti-steering, is illegal under EU antitrust law.

The investigation found that Apple prohibits app developers from telling users the price of any subscription online or the price difference between in-app purchases and external purchases. The company also prevents developers from including information or links to alternative subscription purchase pages on their websites or emails. Apple has been practicing these practices for nearly 10 years, potentially causing iOS users to pay unnecessarily for music streaming subscriptions due to the fees it charges (which developers then build into prices). The committee found that Apple’s conduct also “resulted in non-pecuniary harm” and resulted in a more frustrating user experience.

Previously, there were rumors in February that Apple would be fined 500 million euros ($542.6 million) for its App Store antitrust policies, which was less than one-third of the final figure. The European Commission claimed that setting the fine at 1.8 billion euros was to be “sufficiently deterrent” to prevent Apple from making the same mistakes again. However, Apple plans to appeal the decision.

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from Tech Empire Solutions https://techempiresolutions.blogspot.com/2024/03/apple-fined-nearly-2-billion-by-eu-for.html
via https://techempiresolutions.com/

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