Brussels is to impose its first ever fine on tech giant Apple for allegedly breaking EU law over access to its music streaming services, according to five people with direct knowledge of the long-running investigation.
The fine, which is in the region of €500mn and is expected to be announced early next month, is the culmination of a European Commission antitrust probe into whether Apple has used its own platform to favour its services over those of competitors.
The probe is investigating whether Apple blocked apps from informing iPhone users of cheaper alternatives to access music subscriptions outside the App Store. It was launched after music-streaming app Spotify made a formal complaint to regulators in 2019.
The Commission will say Apple’s actions are illegal and go against the bloc’s rules that enforce competition in the single market, the people familiar with the case told the Financial Times. It will ban Apple’s practice of blocking music services from letting users outside its App Store switch to cheaper alternatives.
Brussels will accuse Apple of abusing its powerful position and imposing anti-competitive trading practices on rivals, the people said, adding that the EU would say the tech giant’s terms were “unfair trading conditions”.
It is one of the most significant financial penalties levied by the EU on big tech companies. A series of fines against Google levied over several years and amounting to about €8bn are being contested in court.
Apple has never previously been fined for antitrust infringements by Brussels, but the company was hit in 2020 with a €1.1bn fine in France for alleged anti-competitive behaviour. The penalty was revised down to €372mn after an appeal.
The EU’s action against Apple will reignite the war between Brussels and Big Tech at a time when companies are being forced to show how they are complying with landmark new rules aimed at opening competition and allowing small tech rivals to thrive.
Companies that are defined as gatekeepers, including Apple, Amazon and Google, need to fully comply with these rules under the Digital Markets Act by early next month.
The act requires these tech giants to comply with more stringent rules and will force them to allow rivals to share information about their services.
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Source: EU to hit Apple with first ever fine in €500mn music streaming penalty
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