Apple faces mammoth $2 billion EU fine over Spotify App Store complaint

Apple has been fined an astonishing 1.8 billion euros (roughly $1.95 billion) by EU regulators. The news was reported Monday by The New York Times and follows a five-year investigation into alleged anticompetitive behavior.

The decision relates to the dominance of Apple’s iOS App Store and the claim that it leverages this dominance to punish rivals or squeeze them out of the market. Back in 2019, Spotify complained about the Cupertino giant’s practices and Apple’s defensive PR campaign wasn’t enough to dissuade the EU from launching an investigation.

The dispute centers around the rules and fees that Apple levies on developers who sell apps for the iPhone and other devices. Spotify claimed the rules “purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience,” while the 30 percent commission on all app revenues was claimed to be excessive. (This fee has since been lowered in many cases.) Devs were also forced to use Apple’s own payment system, preventing them from avoiding the revenue cut, although this too is an area where Apple has begun to make small compromises since the investigation began.

Commenting on the decision, European Commission executive VP Margrethe Vestager said: “For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store.”

Apple, meanwhile, has insisted that it will appeal against the ruling. “While we respect the European Commission,” the company said in a statement, “the facts simply don’t support this decision.”