Apple is about to be fined €500 million by the European Commission.
The fine will be part of the conclusion of the case after Spotify files a formal complaint in 2019. Apple prevents music streaming apps like Spotify from offering users alternative ways to subscribe to their own services, thereby bypassing Apple’s in-app purchase commissions, a move the EU considers illegal. These provisions are commonly referred to as App Store “anti-steering clauses”. The upcoming EU ruling won’t force Apple to allow alternative in-app payments, but it will insist that music streaming app developers are free to link to their websites for online subscriptions.
On March 13, 2019, streaming music service Spotify filed a complaint against Apple with European Union antitrust regulators, alleging that Apple unfairly restricts rivals in favor of its own streaming music service, Apple Music.
Spotify said that Apple’s control of the App Store deprived consumers of choice and competed with other streaming music service providers in a way that favored Apple Music.
