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The EU’s investigation was sparked by a complaint nearly five years ago from Stockholm-based Spotify, which claimed it was forced to ramp up the price of its monthly subscriptions to cover costs associated with Apple’s alleged stranglehold on how the App Store operates.
“This decision sends a powerful message—no company, not even a monopoly like Apple, can wield power abusively to control how other companies interact with their customers,” Spotify said in a statement.
The commission homed in on Apple’s so-called anti-steering rules in a formal charge sheet in February, saying the conditions were unnecessary and meant customers faced higher prices.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has made it a core strategy to attempt to dismantle Big Tech’s dominance in the bloc through fines and regulatory actions.Credit: Bloomberg
“The reality is that European consumers have more choices than ever,” Apple wrote in a post about the EU decision. “Ironically, in the name of competition, today’s decision just cements the dominant position of a successful European company that is the digital music market’s runaway leader.”
At a private June hearing in the EU case, Apple’s stance was that it already addressed any possible competition concerns, according to a person familiar with the US firm’s thinking. In early 2022, Apple began allowing Spotify and other music services to direct users to the web in their apps to sign up for subscriptions.
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Vestager said that Apple’s rules prevented consumers from making informed choices, meaning some may have paid more than they needed to.
“The commission found that Apple’s rules result in withholding key information on prices and features of services from consumers,” she said in a news conference.
The EU crackdown on Apple’s App Store has run alongside sweeping new rules aimed at heading off market abuses before they take root. Under the Digital Markets Act, which comes into full effect this week, it’ll be illegal for the most powerful tech firms to favour their own services over their rivals.
Companies will be barred from combining personal data across their different services and from using data they collect from third-party merchants to compete against them. They will also have to allow users to download apps from rival’s platforms. The rules come into full force March 7 and Apple has also challenged its designation under the new regime.
Bloomberg
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