Brussels will hit tech giant Apple with a €500 million fine for allegedly breaking EU law over access to its music streaming services, the Financial Times reported Sunday.
The fine would be the EU’s first ever against Apple and is expected to be announced early next month, according to the FT report. It is the result of a European Commission antitrust probe into whether Apple’s “anti-steering” requirements breach the bloc’s abuse of dominance rules, harming music consumers “who may end up paying more” for apps.
The probe is investigating contractual restrictions that Apple imposed on app developers that prevent them from informing iPhone and iPad users of cheaper music subscription options. It was launched after Spotify made a formal complaint to regulators in 2019.
The Commission will rule that Apple’s actions are illegal and against EU competition rules, according to the report. The EU executive will ban Apple’s practice of barring music services from letting users know of cheaper alternatives outside the App Store, according to the newspaper.
The Commission declined to comment.
