The European Commission is set to fine Apple about 500 million euros over alleged breaches of EU competition law, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, according to CNBC news.
Brussels first launched an investigation into allegations that Apple hindered third-party music services on its devices and favored its own Apple Music service, after Spotify filed a formal complaint to regulators in 2019.
In most regions, Apple’s App Store rules prohibit companies such as Spotify from billing users for subscriptions directly within the app, making them instead use Apple’s App Store billing service, which takes a cut of up to 30%.
Brussels formally charged Apple in an anti-competitive probe in 2021, but narrowed the scope of the investigation last year, abandoning a charge of pushing developers to use its own in-app payment system.
The latest version of the probe focused on whether Apple had restricted apps from informing users about cheaper subscription alternatives outside of its native App Store and thus violated EU competition laws.
The findings of the investigation will lead to the Commission accusing Apple of abusing its powerful position and banning its “unfair trading conditions” regarding its music service subscription policies, sources told the FT.
If imposed, the fine would be one of the most substantial financial penalties the EU has imposed on a major technology company. It follows a series of large contested fines against Google.
While Apple has faced fines for antitrust behavior before — such as the €1.1 billion penalty in France that was later reduced to €372 million on appeal — this would mark its first such fine from Brussels.