Apple will be fined more than 80 billion yen for violating EU antitrust laws

It has been reported that Apple has been fined 500 million euros (approximately 81 billion yen) in the European Union (EU) for obstructing competition between the music streaming service Apple Music and third-party music streaming apps. Spotify's lawsuit that ``Apple prevented Apple from notifying users of third-party music services other than Apple Music'' was approved.

EU to hit Apple with first ever fine in €500mn music streaming penalty
https://www.ft.com/content/1e677a7e-9494-4f5b-a724-9e58ef26b34f

Apple to be fined over $500 million under EU antitrust law - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/18/24076526/apple-music-antitrust-fine-brussels-eu-spotify

In 2019, the music streaming service Spotify sued the EU's antitrust regulator, claiming that ``Apple is unfairly restricting other companies that compete with Apple Music on the App Store.''

Spotify sues European Commission for violation of antitrust law, saying ``Apple's excessive fees hinder fair competition'' - GIGAZINE

EU antitrust regulators are reportedly considering imposing a hefty fine of $40 billion (approximately 6 trillion yen), equivalent to 10% of Apple's annual revenue, in response to Spotify's complaint. I did.

Apple could be fined the equivalent of 10% of annual revenue by the EU for violating antitrust laws in its dispute with Spotify over the App Store - GIGAZINE

According to a report from the financial newspaper Financial Times, Apple will be fined $500 million by EU regulators. The amount of the fine imposed on Apple will be significantly reduced from the original amount.

When overseas media outlet The Verge asked Apple for comment on the Financial Times report, Emma Wilson of the company responded, ``We do not comment on speculation.'' The Verge has also requested comments from the European Commission, the EU's policy enforcement agency, and Spotify, but as of the time of writing, no response has been received.

In addition, EU regulators have begun investigating Apple's antitrust violations in 2020. At this time, Apple prohibited developers from embedding links to their own sites in apps, so EU regulators also viewed this as a problem. However, in response to pressure from Japan's Fair Trade Commission, Apple announced in September 2021 that the 'Reader app' that allows users to view subscribed content such as magazines, books, newspapers, music, videos, etc. We are changing our terms to allow the inclusion of links to websites.

Apple allows links to external websites from within apps, changes to terms worldwide - GIGAZINE