Apple Challenges $2 Billion EU Antitrust Fine Over Spotify Complaint

[MacRumors]

Apple is challenging a $1.95 billion fine imposed by the European Commission for thwarting fair competition from music-streaming rivals, including Spotify (via Bloomberg).

The Commission fined Apple in March, saying that the company abused its dominant position in the market by forbidding music streaming apps to tell users about cheaper subscription prices outside the app.

The EU crackdown also mandated that Apple "remove anti-steering provisions" for music apps in the European Economic Area (EEA). Apple subsequently updated its App Store rules to let music apps in the EEA inform users of other ways to purchase digital music content or services and to add website links for purchasing digital music subscriptions.

Apple has reportedly filed a suit at the EU's General Court in Luxembourg to challenge the March decision. The Commission told reporters it is ready to defend its decision in court.

When the fine was issued, Apple said the decision was reached "despite the Commission's failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm." Apple also said that the ruling "ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast."

Apple also said that three different related cases mounted against it by the Commission over the past eight years consistently found no evidence of consumer harm and no evidence of anti-competitive behavior.

The fine brought to a close a long-running investigation by the EU, triggered by a complaint from Spotify in 2015 into Apple's treatment of third-party music streaming services on the App Store.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Challenges $2 Billion EU Antitrust Fine Over Spotify Complaint

 

[truthsteve]

Spotify is such a child. Spotify should just build their own phone. Oh what's that, you don't want to risk billions and years of r&d like apple did?

 

[Nuno Lopes]

This text describes Apple not considering what was given as evidence. I guess Apple will need to prove that it’s all false evidence.

Consumer arm is very subjective.

What is not subjective are hundreds of millions of device owners being denied the ability to observe alternative deals and promotions in their apps of choice, some cheaper than the deal provided by the App Store. This is steering.

 

[scorpio vega]

In 2024, it’s not hard to do a quick search for alternatives. It’s how I was able to find 2 months free of Apple Music at Best Buy. And three months of Apple TV.

This is not 2011 when things were hard to find

 

[Dionte]

The EU will be the undoing of Apple.

 

[scorpio vega]

This Spotify stuff is annoying for me as a customer. For example, I wanted to sign up for Amazon prime but my card was home. I couldn’t just sign up through the app. I had to go to amazons website to sign up.

None of this helps the consumer if I have to go multiple places to sign up for services and remember where (is it through the App Store or an external site) and is everything about these corporations pockets.

 

[incidentallycheckout]

The EU will be the undoing of Apple.

It won't. And even if it ended up that way, it'd just mean Apple would be the undoing of Apple since everything the EU has done towards Apple, has been warranted.

 

[incidentallycheckout]

Spotify is such a child.

Epic was called a child also.

Any company that challenges Apple is called a child. But the real child is the one who is constantly called out by other companies.

 

[q64ceo]

Imagine if Microsoft did what Apple has done re: steering. Heads would be exploding here and rightfully so. But Apple gets a free pass from many here.

 

[Pezimak]

Very brave of Apple, the evidence was quite clear and they will have a huge uphill struggle to try and prove otherwise. They deserved to be fined IMO due to outright banning ANY mention of alternative payment methods from its App Store policies.

 

[SanderEvers]

Imagine if Microsoft did what Apple has done re: steering. Heads would be exploding here and rightfully so. But Apple gets a free pass from many here.

Where have you been the last 30 years? Micorosoft does exactly the same thing.

 

[incidentallycheckout]

Imagine if Microsoft did what Apple has done re: steering. Heads would be exploding here and rightfully so. But Apple gets a free pass from many here.

The bias is so clear every time.

Apple can do no wrong in the minds of some people.

Edit: I'm getting so many downvotes in this thread for daring to speak out against Apple. People are going to blow their entire 24-hour allotment of downvotes on me because apparently thinking different (ironic isn't it) isn't allowed, kind of an honor.

 

[Pezimak]

Where have you been the last 30 years? Micorosoft does exactly the same thing.

And yet they aren't being fined 2 billion Euros. So I'm not sure your comment holds any value.

 

[surfzen21]

The EU will be the undoing of Apple.

The EU will be the undoing of the EU.

 

[q64ceo]

Where have you been the last 30 years? Micorosoft does exactly the same thing.

How so? I'd appreciate it if you could correct me and show me how Microsoft is steering consumers away from cheaper choices. Because Apple is doing just that here. They enshrined it in their rules that Apps could not tell their consumers that it was cheaper to subscribe from the outside.

 

[StuBeck]

Gasp, I was expecting them to just pay it! /s

 

[SanderEvers]

And yet they aren't being fined 2 billion Euros. So I'm not sure your comment holds any value.

No.. but they are going to get a €561 million fine. https://www.ft.com/content/ce8a6602-dece-4313-b1a5-4e6f3354f99d

And they have had multiple fines in the past (Internet Explorer, Mediaplayer, Office, etc)

 

[truthsteve]

But the real child is the one who is constantly called out by other companies.

lol nope. that's just children being jealous

 

[oofio2461]

Leave the multitrillion company alone, Spotify! /s

 

[Skyscraperfan]

It seems American do not really understand the idea of consumer protection. Each time a company uses its market power to make if more difficult for the consumers to make their own choices, consumer protection steps in and that is great.

Just look at the food industry. In the EU each ingredient is considered dangerous until it is proven harmless. In the US it is the other way around: Each ingredient is considered harmless until it is proven dangerous. The result is that burgers at McDonald's have a much longer list of ingredients in the US than in the EU.

 

[iBreatheApple]

Spotify is such a child. Spotify should just build their own phone. Oh what's that, you don't want to risk billions and years of r&d like apple did?

They’re both children, fighting each other rather than coming to an agreement for their customers. It’s like the government. Both sides suck and are more concerned with their own self-interests, and are fighting each other rather than focusing on the people. It’s wild.

 

[icanhazmac]

The EU will be the undoing of the EU.

One can only hope! Consumer protection my ***, more like a witch hunt.

 

[wanha]

This text describes Apple not considering what was given as evidence is not. I guess Apple will need to prove that it’s all false evidence.

Consumer arm is very subjective.

What is not subjective is users being denied the ability to observe alternative deals and promotions, some cheaper, in app than the deal provided by the App Store. Deals that exist outside these environments

hmmm... so while in supermarket A, should we get to compare alternative deals of other supermarkets while there?

Deals have always existed outside a particular marketplace. Why apply this thinking only here?

 

[wanha]

They’re both children, fighting each other rather than coming to an agreement for their customers. It’s like the government. Both sides suck and are more concerned with their own self-interests, and are fighting each other rather than focusing on the people. It’s wild.

Let me try to test this hypothesis of yours:

Spotify's side of the argument: Spotify have made it very clear they don't believe they should pay Apple anything at all.

Apple's side of the argument: Apple don't want to get into a negotiation with every single company that wants to sell through the App Store, so they created policies for how things work.

What's the compromise here? That Apple starts negotiating with each company separately? That only means bigger companies have to pay less because they will have more leverage in the negotiations, so is it really a win for consumers or for competition?

Also, Spotify would have to agree to pay a certain amount to use the App Store, but they don't seem to have much appetite in doing so.

Ok so I failed it this badly. Please help me out and explain what the grown up solution is here.

 

[wanha]

It's a bit of a problem for Apple that the EU is the prosecutor, judge and jury in this case