EU Commission Fines Apple €1.8 Billion for Abusing its Position in Music Streaming

The EU Commission announced today that it’s fining Apple €1.8 billion (approximately $2 billion) for abusing its position regarding the distribution of music streaming services on iOS and iPadOS. Following an in-depth investigation, the EU Commission came to the conclusion that the App Store preventing music services from informing users about alternative (and cheaper) ways to subscribe to these services was breaching EU laws.

“Apple’s conduct, which lasted for almost ten years, may have led many iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions because of the high commission fee imposed by Apple on developers and passed on to consumers in the form of higher subscription prices for the same service on the Apple App Store,” the EU Commission explained in its press release. “Moreover, Apple’s anti-steering provisions led to non-monetary harm in the form of a degraded user experience: iOS users either had to engage in a cumbersome search before they found their way to relevant offers outside the app, or they never subscribed to any service because they did not find the right one on their own.”

The EU Commission’s investigation into Apple’s App Store rules officially began in 2020 after Spotify formally accused Apple of breaching EU antitrust laws a year earlier. Today, Spotify described the EU Commission’s decision as “an important moment in the fight for a more open Internet for consumers,” though the company urged EU regulators to keep going.

“While we appreciate the EC addressing this important case, we also know that the details matter. Apple has routinely defied laws and court decisions in other markets. So we’re looking forward to the next steps that will hopefully clearly and conclusively address Apple’s long-standing unfair practices,” Spotify said in its press release.

This had to be expected, but Apple denied today that it has been engaging in any anti-competitive behavior and pointed out how its App Store contributed to Spotify’s success in Europe. The company also emphasized that Spotify had a 56% share of the European digital music market, and that the company pays Apple nothing for being on the App Store in over 160 countries.

“But free isn’t enough for Spotify,” Apple claimed. “They also want to rewrite the rules of the App Store — in a way that advantages them even more.”

Apple also remarked that the EU Commission is fining Apple €1.8 billion over abusive App Store rules right before the EU’s Digital Markets Act comes into effect. While Apple acknowledged that it’s planning “changes to the rules challenged here,” the company described today’s decision as “an effort by the Commission to enforce the DMA before the DMA becomes law.”