This is the first time that Apple has been sanctioned for competition violations. The American giant received a fine of 1.84 billion euros from the European Commission for ” abuse of dominant position “ in the online music market.
Spotify, a very popular music streaming platform, had taken Brussels to court against the practices of the Cupertino (California) company, deemed to be contrary to European rules of “fair competition” and which do not allow, according to him, to “guarantee freedom of choice for consumers and a fair environment for developers”
At the end of a formal investigation opened in June 2020, the European executive ruled in favor of the applicant. “For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming applications” through its AppStore application store, explained Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The Apple group has therefore put in place restrictions to prevent application developers from promoting to users on iPhone and iPad “alternative and cheaper services available outside of the Apple ecosystem”specified Mme Vestager, adding: “This is illegal.” The group must, moreover, put an end to the practices identified and refrain in the future from adopting equivalent measures.
An amount deemed “proportionate”
This is the first time that the European Union has sanctioned Apple for violating competition rules. This amount is judged “proportionate to global income” of the Californian group and “necessary to be a deterrent”said the European executive in a press release.
“Such a fixed fine was necessary because a significant part of the damage is non-monetary and cannot be properly taken into account based on revenue (…). And the fine must be sufficient to deter Apple from repeating this or a similar offense.”, insists the Commission. The objective is also to “to deter other companies of similar size and with similar resources from committing the same offense”.
Apple immediately announced that it would appeal the fine imposed. The group deplored a sanction “taken despite the Commission’s inability to uncover any credible evidence of harm to consumers”. The fine “ignores the realities of a thriving, competitive and rapidly growing market”reacted the large American group.
Apple, for its part, accuses Spotify of seeking to profit ” without paying “ of the advantages of the AppStore and its “tools and technologies”Who “contributed to making” from the Swedish platform “one of the most recognizable brands in the world”.