EU questions whether Apple has changed anything after its $1.95 billion fine
Following the European Union's fining Apple for blocking music streaming firms from promoting cheaper alternatives to the App Store, regulators are assessing whether Apple has now complied.
EU flags in Brussels
The $1.95 billion fine on March 4, 2024, was specifically regarding this anti-steering issue. Apple at the time objected, saying that the EU had failed "to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm."
According to Bloomberg, Apple has subsequently accepted the EU's decision. In a change made on Friday to the App Store rules, Apple said it will no longer block developers in the EU from linking out to alternative methods of payment.
However, it will still charge a 27% fee for subscriptions bought this way.
Now according to gamesfray, the EU is "currently assessing whether Apple has fully complied with the decision."
This could in theory be the latest of multiple compliance investigations brought by the EU against Apple. However, it's unlikely to be a full compliance investigation along the lines of the previous inquiry, because the answer should be plain.
It will be straightforward for the EU to spot whether Apple has really lifted its anti-steering processes. Then although Spotify continues to complain over Apple's fees, there is nothing in the Digital Markets Act that says Apple can't charge for sales generated through links on App Store apps.
Spotify claims to not agree and has recently re-issued a comment that was originally made before Apple was fined.
"Following the law is not optional, but Apple continues to defy that decision," said Spotify's Jeanne Moran. "Effective April 6th, the Commission can start noncompliance proceedings and impose daily fines."
"It's time for decisive action to once and for all give consumers real choice," continued Moran. The statement about consumer choice comes despite 56% of streaming consumers having already chosen Spotify over Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Apple Music, in that order.
Apple's latest App Store rules include a section about how "music streaming apps in specific regions can use Music Streaming Services Entitlements to include a link (which may take the form of a buy button) to the developer's website to purchase digital music content or services."
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Comments
Also, never allowing competition to exist in certain areas. Alternative app stores, NFC, being the sole voice on what is and isn't acceptable...
The 'no credible evidence' is simply Apple's opinion. A PR blurb to say something that actually means little.
Obviously the EU thought differently and the anti-steering related fine, AFAIK, wasn't DMA/DSA related.
It was also open to appeal so I'm surprised that Apple is now rumoured to have just swallowed the decision.
As for their being nothing in the DMA against Apple imposing a 27% commission on transactions outside its realm, I'd argue that there doesn't need to be, as the whole point was to stimulate competition and Apple taking a cut from everywhere there is app related business going on flies directly in the face of that so I doubt it will pass the sniff test again.
A link isn't "outside its realm". It's in the app just like IAP. The links are largely pointless anyway. Spotify never needed them. Netflix never needed them. Amazon Kindle never needed them. Those are all mainstream consumer apps. Mainstream consumers knew they could search the internet for company web sites and purchase things on the internet through their iPhone.
At any rate, in all other places, including the very real European Union, it is not Rob53 who decides how laws work and to whom they apply.
You will be filing an appeal on Apple's behalf, I take it?
Anti-steering is directly, knowingly and wilfully anti-competitive. Consumer harm is implicit in the action.
How do you think they thought this through? I can guarantee you consumers weren't even considered.
It was all about limiting competition and abusing dominant position.
This years long practice was mentioned in the official documents that accompanied the fine.
If nobody had complained then it's possible Apple would have not been fined but that doesn't mean it was complying with existing legislation.
Perhaps it's a culture of risk aversion, and likely as much, the high taxation that discourages investment, or even the inability to scale across various languages and borders. Whatever the cause, the EU is uncompetitive in the technology sector.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcKzantanX0
An economic block that has lost its way in innovation, and regulation is the EU's response, and that response won't change the status quo.
From a current AI post;
https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/04/10/apple-wants-to-hire-a-pr-heavyweight-to-battle-the-eu-on-its-own-soil?utm_source=safari_push#P__lCS1zU_7YY-mtYED-13VyiK
Yeah, fair play, EU.