Apple has to pay a fine of nearly $2 billion for breaking European Union antitrust laws. The EU has imposed the first-ever fine of 1.8 billion euros on the tech giant. As per our earlier report, Apple was expected to pay a fine, but the amount announced on Monday was much higher than expected.
Apple is facing this two billion dollar fine for preventing rival streaming service Spotify from telling its iPhone users that there are cheaper ways, outside the App Store, to subscribe to its streaming services.
In a press conference, Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition and digital chief, said that Apple had been abusing “its dominant position” as it “distributed music streaming apps through its App Store.”
She added that the tech giant would now “have to allow music streaming developers to communicate freely with their users.”
She also said, “The size of the fine reflects both Apple’s financial power and the harm that Apple’s conduct inflicted on millions of European users.”
Apple released a statement on Monday saying it would appeal the EU ruling.
Spotify said in a statement that the EU ruling and penalty sent a strong message that no company could wield power that controls how other companies interact with customers.
The European Union is an aggressive regulator of tech companies and had formulated the Digital Markets Act in 2022 which will come into effect on Thursday. This will make all tech giants compliant while helping small and medium developers.
Apple has been facing a series of issues in recent times. It recently lost a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo as its SpO2 sensor on specific Apple Watch models infringed on patents registered by Masimo.
A few days ago, Apple announced it was scrapping its decades-long secretive Project Titian. The Cupertino giant had been building a self-driving electric car but has stopped this project while shifting part of the team to its AI division. It is expected to fire the rest of its employees.
Despite setbacks, Apple remains a top American and global company. In its recent quarter, the company reported a revenue of approximately $120 billion and $34 billion as net profit.
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