EU allegedly plans to punish Apple $539 million as part of an antitrust investigation

The Financial Times revealed on Sunday that the European Commission is planning to punish Apple around $539 million for allegedly breaking EU competition law. The allegation was based on anonymous sources who were aware of the situation.

After Spotify formally complained to regulators in 2019, Brussels began looking into claims that Apple discriminated against other music services on its devices and promoted its own Apple Music service.

According to Apple’s App Store policies, businesses like Spotify are not allowed to charge customers for subscriptions within the app in the majority of locations. Instead, they must utilize Apple’s App Store billing service, which charges a maximum of 30% in fees.

Brussels officially filed charges against Apple in 2021 as part of an anti-competitive inquiry, but this year it trimmed its charges and dropped the accusation that it was pressuring developers to use its own in-app payment system.

According to individuals who spoke to the FT, the Commission will accuse Apple of abusing its strong position and outlaw its «unfair trading conditions» with reference to its music service subscription rules after reviewing the investigation’s results.

If levied, the amount would rank among the highest monetary sanctions the EU has ever placed on a significant IT business. It comes after a slew of significant, contentious fines against Google.

The antitrust probe will continue in its current course even if the Commission has not yet decided when to publish the sanctions. Apple is able to file an appeal with EU courts about the ruling.