Pointed out that “high commission costs were passed on to consumers”
Share 3 Senior Vice-President Margrethe Vestager (Photo: AP/Afro)
On March 4, the European Commission, the European Union’s executive agency, fined Apple approximately 1.8 billion euros (approximately 290 billion yen) for obstructing competition with rival music distribution services. I was punished. Apple has indicated that it plans to appeal the decision.
Vestager: Apple has violated EU competition law for 10 years
Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s senior vice president for competition policy, said of Apple’s practices that “developers are not providing information to consumers about cheaper alternative music services available outside of Apple’s ecosystem”. We have limited what we can provide.””This practice has been going on for the past 10 years, and Apple has been in violation of EU competition law (equivalent to Japan’s antitrust law) during that time,” he said.explained。
The European Commission has been investigating Apple’s unique terms and conditions that it requires music distributors to use within its App Store. The investigation began in 2020 after complaints from Swedish music distribution giant Spotify Technology. Prior to this, in February 2023, the European Commission had sent Apple a “notice of objection” warning that it was suspected of violating EU competition law. The UK’s Financial Times (FT) reported in February 2024 that the European Commission had decided to impose fines on Apple.
The European Commission concluded that Apple’s actions have resulted in users paying significantly higher prices for music distribution services. Apple imposes a sales fee of up to 30% on apps that sell paid apps and digital content on its App Store. The Commission noted that those costs were passed on to consumers in the form of higher subscription fees. As part of its decision, the European Commission also prohibited Apple from blocking apps that provide services outside of its operating system (OS).