Apple Fined Nearly $2 Billion in EU Music Streaming Antitrust Case Brought by Spotify
The European Union has fined Apple nearly $2 billion (€1.8 billion) for “abusing its dominant position” to stymie the distribution of different streaming apps to iPad and iPhone users.
The decision was handed down several years after Spotify filed an antitrust complaint against the tech giant, accusing it of introducing rules that “purposely limit choice and stifle innovation.” The European Commission ultimately sided with Spotify, saying that Apple violated EU antitrust rules by putting restrictions on app developers that kept them from telling users about “alternative and cheaper music subscription services.”
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The EC said Apple’s “anti-steering provisions” prevented outside developers from sharing pertinent information — such as price and subscription offers — with iOS users. The EC ruled that Apple’s tactics “may have led iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions,” and caused “non-monetary harm in the form a degraded user experience.”
The massive lump sum fine of €1.8 billion, the EC said, takes these factors into account. The sum was also deemed “sufficient” enough to deter Apple and other companies of employing similar tactics, as well as specifically “proportionate to Apple global’s revenues.” Apple has also been ordered to end its anti-steering provisions.
Spotify celebrated the decision in a press release, calling it an “important moment in the fight for a more open internet for consumers.” It added: “By requiring Apple to stop its illegal conduct in the EU, the EC is putting consumers first. It is a basic concept of free markets—customers should know what options they have, and customers, not Apple, should decide what to buy, and where, when and how.”
Apple, however, bristled at the decision and said it planned to appeal. The company argued the EC failed to “uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm” and suggested the decision was grounded in rules laid out in the EU’s soon-to-be-implemented Digital Markets Act. (“Apple is set to comply with the DMA in days, and our plans include changes to the rules challenged here,” it said).
Furthermore, Apple argued the ruling ignored Spotify’s own dominant position as the largest streaming app in the world — a success Apple said it deserved some credit for, by allowing it to appear on the App Store for free, and making sure it worked seamlessly with Apple products like Siri. “Free isn’t enough for Spotify,” Apple said. “They also want to rewrite the rules of the App Store — in a way that advantages them even more.”
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