Apple’s tussle in the EU does not seem to stop anytime soon. The tech giant has been fined $2 billion by the EU after Spotify complained about App Store Rules.
The investigation dates back to 2020 soon after Spotify’s complaint that Apple prevents developers from informing users about cheaper music services outside its ecosystem. This practice was found illegal according to the EU’s Antitrust Rules.
This is not the first time that Apple has to face scrutiny in the EU. Earlier, Apple had to comply with EU’s regulation for a universal charger for phones which demanded Apple to switch from its age-old lightning cable to USB-C cables that most of the phones and gadgets support outside Apple.
iPhone 15 series became the first to come with a type-C port but Apple made sure that those phones get charged only by cables made by Apple.
This fight did not stop here. Apple is preparing to allow third-party apps on iPhone for the first time in compliance with EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is also a first for Apple. Again, it comes with perks, with rights that Apple could charge upto 17% for developers who use their own payment method or link to an external website. Along comes an annual feel of €0.50 fee per app install after the first million installs.
How will these regulations affect the users, time will tell. But, uniformity across platforms will ensure that tech giants stay in limits.
