Apple Company - Archive

The Financial Times revealed that the European Union intends to impose a fine on the Apple company, amounting to about 500 million euros ($539 million) next month, as a result of alleged violations of European Union competition law.

The newspaper indicated in a report, citing five sources, that the European Union is close to imposing a fine on Apple, the first ever antitrust fine, in addition to imposing a ban on App Store rules that the Union believes frustrate competition.

She explained: Apple could have been fined up to 10% of its annual global sales.

The investigation was sparked by a complaint in 2019 from Swedish company Spotify Technology SA, which claimed it had to increase the price of its monthly subscription to cover costs associated with Apple's alleged grip on how the App Store operates, according to Al Arabiya.

The European Commission relied on Apple's so-called anti-directive rules in an official fee regulation in February 2023, saying the conditions were unnecessary and meant customers faced higher prices.

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In early 2022, Apple began allowing Spotify and other music services to direct app users to the web to sign up for subscriptions. This bypasses Apple's 30% fee step and gives consumers more pricing and subscription options. But Spotify responded to Apple's efforts, saying in June that the restrictions still exist and that the changes are for show only.

Aside from attacking the companies for their past violations, the Commission, the EU's antitrust arm, has also pushed for sweeping new rules to head off competition abuses by tech companies before they take root. The Digital Markets Act comes into full force in March 2024 and sets out a series of dos and don'ts.

Under the DMA, it would be illegal for more powerful companies to favor their own services over those of competitors.