Earlier this year, the European Commission had imposed a nearly €2 billion fine on Apple for "abusing its dominant position" and over music streaming on the App Store. The European Union's regulatory body said that Apple favoured its own music streaming app, Apple Music, over other rival music streaming services like Spotify by preventing them from informing their users of the option to subscribe for cheaper outside the App Store. Apple has now formally challenged the appeal.
According to the EU, Apple's practice of not allowing communication regarding alternative payment options comes off as "unfair trading conditions" that are violations of EU antitrust laws. Apple countered the decision claiming that there's no "evidence of anti-competitive behaviour" and that the EU investigation did not yield a viable theory on how Apple may have thwarted competition in such a thriving market like music streaming.
Spotify has been one of the longest contenders that have openly challenged Apple's unfair practices like these. Over the years, Spotify has accused Apple of unfairly favouring its own services over its competition. The company has been against the "30% tax" for a long time and also called out Apple for its new 50 cents per download fee to app developers (if the app was downloaded outside the App Store) by EU users as extortion. Spotify even launched a dedicated website called "Time to Play Fair" to explain the timeline leading up to the EU's fine.
Last month, however, Apple rejected Spotify's update that showed discounted pricing if a subscription was made outside the App Store in Europe despite the fine from the EU.
Apple's appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union could drag the case for several more years without a solid conclusion. For companies like Spotify, this could mean more uncertainty and more obstacles in the marketplace, indirectly benefiting Apple and its own services in the meantime.
via Reuters
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