Apple is soon in danger of receiving a large fine from the European Commission. The American tech group will probably also have to stop certain restrictions on music services such as Spotify. Bloomberg news agency reports this on the authority of insiders. Supervisors in Brussels are currently finalizing the punitive measures.
This is a matter that has been going on for years. Apple requires that makers of apps in the App Store use its own payment system. The tech company also requires a commission of up to 30 percent for every transaction. Spotify had complained about that.
In February, the European Commission stated in a special complaint that Apple imposed too many restrictions on music streaming services. In particular, the requirement that customers may not be informed in the app of other options to take out a cheaper subscription is “abuse of market power” by Apple. Consumers suffer because the price is higher for them.
The European Commission now refuses to comment. Apple has also not yet responded to Bloomberg’s message. A decision on an intervention by Brussels is expected early next year. It is not yet clear how high the fine for Apple could be. In theory, this could amount to 10 percent of annual turnover, which in Apple’s case is a huge amount. But in practice, EU fines rarely reach this high.
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