EU set to fine Apple €500 million over Spotify antitrust

The European Union reportedly plans to hit Apple Inc. with its first-ever antitrust fine of 500 million euros. This marks the first instance of the EU fining Apple. Big tech companies are expected to face strengthened regulation with the implementation of the Digital Markets Act in March.

The Financial Times reported that the European Commission is set to impose a 500-million-euro fine on tech giant Apple early next month for allegedly pushing developers to use its own in-app payment system and disadvantaging competitors of its music streaming service, Apple Music.

The probe was launched after Swedish music-streaming app Spotify made a formal complaint to regulators in 2019 for disadvantaging Apple Music’s competitors by forcing them to pay a 30 percent fee for using its in-app payment system. Apple’s enforcement of its in-app payment system is also an issue in Korea. The Korea Communications Commission announced last year that it would impose a fine of 68 billion won on Google and Apple.

The EU imposed a series of fines against Google, levied over several years and amounting to about 8 billion euros for violating the EU’s antitrust law. According to the Financial Times, “The EU’s action against Apple will reignite the war between the EU and U.S. Big Tech.”


Hyoun-Soo Kim kimhs@donga.com