Apple faces first-ever EU fine over antitrust violations in music streaming services

The penalty is the result of the European Commission's antitrust investigation, aimed at determining whether Apple used its platform to give its services an advantage over the competition.

The investigation sought to ascertain whether Apple prevented apps from informing iPhone users about cheaper alternatives for music subscription access outside of the App Store. It was launched after the music streaming app Spotify filed a formal complaint with the regulatory authorities in 2019.

"The Commission will rule that Apple's actions are illegal and inconsistent with European community principles, which encourage competition in the single market," quoted the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the newspaper's sources, the EU will find that the conditions imposed by the tech giant constitute unfair trade conditions.

The penalty for Apple would be one of the most significant penalties ever imposed on large tech companies by the EU. A series of fines imposed on Google over several years, totalling around £6.80 billion, is currently under consideration in court.

Although Apple has never been penalised by Brussels with a fine for antitrust violations before, in 2020 the company was fined £930 million in France for alleged anti-competitive behaviours. The penalty was reduced to £316 million on appeal.

In the opinion of the Financial Times, the EU's actions against Apple will reignite the war between Brussels and Big Tech at a time when companies are being compelled to demonstrate how they comply with ground-breaking new regulations designed to promote competition and enable the development of smaller tech rivals.

In a separate antitrust case, Brussels is liaising with Apple's rivals about the possible concessions the technology giant might make to alleviate concerns that it is blocking financial groups' access to its mobile system, Apple Pay.