The European Commission plans to fine Apple nearly €500 million in March for violating EU antitrust rules in the field of music streaming. Information about this was provided by the newspaper. Finance Times (FT) cited five sources familiar with the details of the antitrust investigation.
“For the first time, the EU will impose a fine of 500 million Euros on Apple for music streaming,” the article says.
According to the publication, the investigation was launched following a complaint filed by Swedish streaming platform Spotify in 2019. It aims to find out whether Apple’s actions have led to additional costs for device users and competitive losses for European streaming services. The payment system for music content on the App Store increases costs for rival platforms due to the 30% commission Apple charges for streaming content, according to preliminary findings from the European Commission. The company is also accused of restricting user rights and failing to inform users about alternative streaming services, which, according to the European Commission, violates EU competition rules.
FT sources said the EC had concluded that Apple’s actions were unlawful and would charge the company with abusing its powerful position and violating trading conditions. The proposed fine would be Apple’s first for antitrust violations in the music streaming industry.
apple in january mercenary Anti-monopoly fine in the amount of 1.1 billion rubles.
Previously reportedApple, TikTok and Wikimedia could be fined for failing to remove banned content.