Apple may be on the line to pay €500 million (around $725 million CAD) as a result of an antitrust complaint made by Spotify.
Reports indicate that the European Union (EU) has investigated Spotify’s complaint and has found Apple to be in violation of regulatory policies. Apple has allegedly been found to instill policies within the App Store that prevent users from seeing more affordable music streaming apps rather than Apple Music.
As Spotify is a major name in the music streaming market, the company launched a campaign against the Cupertino company. This includes an entire website dedicated to resources on how Apple’s policies are allegedly anti-competitive. The crux of Spotify’s argument rests on Apple’s “discriminatory tax” which requires third-party apps to pay a 30 percent fee for the use of its in-app purchase system.
In 2020, the EU began its investigation against Apple. At the time, there were many allegations and complaints formed against the company’s App Store policies. Ultimately, the EU focused on how Apple refuses to allow developers to link out their subscription sign-up pages within apps. In 2022, Apple changed this policy as a result of a Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) investigation.
This is the first time Apple has faced an anti-competitive fine from the EU. In 2020, the company was fined $1.2 billion USD (around $1.6 billion CAD) by French antitrust regulators for similar anti-competitive behaviour.
Apple has not provided an official statement on the matter as of the time of writing. However, company representative Emma Wilson said the company is “not commenting on speculation” in a statement to The Verge. Spotify has also not provided a comment to media yet.
Source: Financial Times Via: The Verge
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