Over the weekend, it was reported that the EU commission is preparing to hit Apple with a $500 million fine over anticompetitive App Store policy for music streaming services. The decision from the EU investigation comes following a complaint from Spotify that began in 2013.
In a new statement to 9to5Mac today, Apple reiterated its belief that Spotify’s complaint is about it “trying to get limitless access to all of Apple’s tools without paying anything for the value Apple provides.”
The EU reached its preliminary conclusion in 2021 that the App Store unfairly favored Apple Music over Spotify and other music streaming services. The investigation was first prompted by a complaint from Spotify filed with EU regulators that first surfaced in 2013 and was formally filed four years ago.
This EU ruling will only focus on how the anti-steering rules impact music streaming services like Spotify. The news of the $500 million fine for Apple was first reported last weekend. The decision hasn’t been formally announced by the EU commission yet, so the amount of the fine could vary.
Apple’s App Store guidelines currently say that Spotify is not allowed to use in-app payment platforms other than Apple’s own In-App Purchase system. Spotify is also not allowed to direct users to other payment platforms. As such, Spotify doesn’t let users subscribe in-app whatsoever.
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