Apple faces $2 billion fine from EU

For antitrust infractions, the European Commission fined Apple more than 1.8 billion euros (about Rs 16583 crore), the first time the tech giant has ever faced penalties. Apple was found to have violated fair competition laws by preventing Spotify and other music streaming services from alerting customers about other payment options besides the App Store.

The European Union competition enforcer said Apple's restrictions constituted unfair trading conditions, a relatively novel argument in an antitrust case and also used by the Dutch antitrust agency in a decision against Apple in 2021 in a case brought by dating app providers.

The EU competition enforcer said it added an additional lump sum of 1.8 billion euros to the basic amount as a deterrent to Apple and because a significant part of the harm caused by Apple's conduct was non-monetary. It did not say what the basic amount was.

""For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store," EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Apple criticised the EU decision, saying it would challenge it in court.

"The decision was reached despite the Commission's failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm, and ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast," the company said in a statement.

"The primary advocate for this decision - and the biggest beneficiary - is Spotify, a company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Spotify has the largest music streaming app in the world, and has met with the European Commission more than 65 times during this investigation," it said.

It said the Swedish company pays no commission to Apple as it sells its subscriptions on its website and not on Apple's App Store.