Apple reportedly facing €500 million fine from EU over music streaming

The European Commission is set to hit Apple with its first-ever fine after allegedly breaking EU law over music streaming access.

As the culmination of a long-standing antitrust inquiry into the tech giant, a €500 million fine is expected to be imposed early next month. The investigation was brought on by a formal complaint from Spotify in 2019, which accused Apple of preventing apps from informing iPhone users of cheaper music subscription options outside the App Store.

Currently, the App Store prohibits streaming platforms from billing users directly, requiring them instead to operate through its own billing service which funnels up to 30% of profits back to Apple, hindering third-party music services and denying customers access to the cheapest payment plans.

According to a report from the Financial Times, the Commission will rule that Apple’s actions violate EU competition laws by unfairly favoring its own Apple Music platform, issuing one of the most significant financial penalties by the EU on big tech to date.

While the fine will be the first of its kind levied by the European Commission, Apple faced similar scrutiny from France four years ago, receiving a €1.1 billion fine in 2020 for alleged anti-competitive behaviour, which was eventually brought down to €372 million following a company appeal.