EU Commission plans to fine Apple €500 million for breaches of the competition law

The European Commission is reportedly planning to fine Apple approximately €500 million ($539 million) for alleged breaches of EU competition law. The investigation was initiated after music streaming company Spotify filed a complaint back in 2019, accusing Apple of hindering third-party music services and unfairly favoring its own Apple Music service. Apple’s App Store rules and practices are under scrutiny as they prohibit companies like Spotify from directly billing users, instead requiring them to use Apple’s billing service and giving Apple a cut of up to 30%.

The scope of the investigation was narrowed last year, focusing on whether Apple restricted apps from informing users about cheaper subscription alternatives available outside of the App Store and therefore violating EU competition laws. The latest findings of the investigation are expected to accuse Apple of abusing its market power and imposing unfair trading conditions. If Commission decides to fine Apple, it would be one of the largest financial penalties the EU has ever imposed on a major technology company.

This would be the first time that Apple faces a fine from the European Commission, although it has previously faced fines for anti-competitive behavior in France. The upcoming enactment of the EU’s Digital Markets Act in March aims to address such practices from tech giants like Apple, Amazon, and Google. Under this act, Apple will be required to allow third-party developers to distribute apps outside of the iOS Store and enable those apps to bill their customers directly.

Apple has already taken steps to comply with EU regulations, including announcing changes to its iOS, Safari, and the App Store in the EU. Furthermore, the company has revealed plans to allow software developers to distribute their apps to Apple devices through alternative stores.

Apple declined to comment on the report, instead referring to a previous statement in which it expressed its satisfaction with regulators narrowing the focus of the probe.