Apple Sued By The EU For $2 Billion After Complaint By Spotify
Image Source: France 24
Apple found itself in some hot water in Europe due to preventing consumers from easily accessing competitor apps on their store. The music and podcast platform Spotify started the initial complaint, and after additional complaints, the EU found that Apple applied restrictions to competing developers that essentially prevented them from giving iOS users information about cheaper music subscription platforms outside of the app.
Margrethe Vestager, an EU antitrust official, said in a public statement, “Apple will have to open the gates to its ecosystem, to allow end users to easily find the apps they want, pay for them in any way they want, and use them on any device they want…Today’s decision shows that competition law continues to provide a very powerful basis to tackle illegal behavior by companies like Apple to the benefit of consumers.”
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Apple, for its part, confirmed its plans to appeal and claimed that the investigation found no evidence of credible harm. Spotify expressed how the ruling sends a “powerful statement” about what rights companies have over consumers and vice versa. According to Spotify, “Apple’s rules muzzled Spotify and other streaming services from sharing with our users directly in our app about various benefits – denying us the ability to communicate with them about how to upgrade and the price of subscriptions, promotions, discounts or numerous other perks…Of course, Apple Music, a competitor to these apps, is not barred from the same behavior.”
For its deceptive practices, Apple now owes the EU a fine of £1.8 billion (approximately $1.95 billion) for “abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps.”
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