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submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by Lemmyseewhatsup@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

The European Commission has fined Apple over €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps to iPhone and iPad users (‘iOS users') through its App Store. In particular, the Commission found that Apple applied restrictions on app developers preventing them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app (‘anti-steering provisions'). This is illegal under EU antitrust rules.

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[-] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 132 points 8 months ago

And Apple released a letter that sounds petty and greedy.

[-] Kidplayer_666@lemm.ee 99 points 8 months ago

Apple’s answer is fair. IF THERE WAS A WAY FOR SPOTIFY TO BE DOWNLOADED WITHOUT THE APP STORE

[-] GenEcon@lemm.ee 48 points 8 months ago

Either that or just don't directly compete with them. Without Apple Music no one would have complained about it.

But you can't establish a monopoly and leverage it to charge your direct competitors a high fee.

[-] deweydecibel@lemmy.world 19 points 8 months ago

To be fair, Apple's position in the digital music market predates all of the streaming apps. They may not have gone all in on Apple Music until after Spotify started taking off, but when it came to music, Apple devices were synonymous with them for a very long time.

The problem is they created a marketplace with the App Store, allowed competition in, and for way too long we have all kind of collectively accepted the fact that because it's their platform there allowed to have special privileges over everyone else on it.

With the EU is doing is recognizing that these devices are not niche, they're not game consoles, they are devices that every single person has, and this is a marketplace that every person is active in. It is far too large for Apple to be allowed to have that kind of privilege.

It has nothing to do with what's fair to Apple because regulating capitalism properly should not be about fairness to all parties equally. It should be about balancing the scales and leveling the playing field.

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[-] hamsterkill@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 8 months ago

How very much like a gatekeeper to their users their argument is.

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[-] namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev 88 points 8 months ago

Despite that success, and the App Store’s role in making it possible, Spotify pays Apple nothing.

That's because Spotify doesn't owe you anything. If I release a piece of software for Apple, Android, Linux, Windows, etc., I don't owe these OSes anything for that. Apple makes plenty of money selling hardware, that's good enough for them.

These delusional bastards really need a few slaps around their heads to get this concept to sink in.

[-] essteeyou@lemmy.world 25 points 8 months ago

I can see an argument for owing something for hosting the app in the App Store, but certainly not 30% of what every user pays or whatever ridiculous amount Apple charges. Price it like hosting a file on S3, perhaps.

[-] namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev 25 points 8 months ago

Perhaps! But only if they allowed third party app stores. Because as it stands right now, they're basically inventing a cost that they pass on to developers, and then rewarding themselves handsomely for the cost that they would have never needed to pay if they allowed others to compete in this area. It's still a tactic they could not get away with if they were not a monopoly.

[-] ByteJunk@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

Hell nah. They cannot be the sole gatekeepers, alternative app stores that are outside of Apple's control need to exist.

[-] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 8 points 8 months ago

You already pay to host your app in the app store.

And the thing is, that if the app is so popular, it gets installed a lot. Which means it only improves their devices.

Apple and app developers are a symbiotic relationship. Both need each other in order to function. Yet Apple is consistently taking a bigger piece than they should.

[-] clubb@lemmy.world 47 points 8 months ago

Damn that's petty. They're like a 5 year old child that got their toy taken from them

[-] deweydecibel@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

They're used to being treated like God's special little tech company here in the states, so of course they're going to throw a fucking tantrum when faced with a regulatory body that actually treats them as they should be treated.

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[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago

That's a ~~paddlin~~ anti-trust forced breakup!

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[-] JustUseMint@lemmy.world 43 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Lmaooo

"Spotify doesn't even pay us!!!"

Edit: omg its so tone deaf, the pot calling the kettle black:

"In short, Spotify wants more. "

Once more, lmaooooo

[-] dustyData@lemmy.world 33 points 8 months ago

They're getting punished for keeping the users in a golden cage, and they are mad that they might have to give some of that power away. You can tell by the fact that not a single paragraph actually addresses the reason for the fine. The EU doesn't give a damn how many times you flew engineers to Stockholm, this is about the conditions in which iOS operates that hurt both developers and users. But we already knew that Apple doesn't give a fly about users, it's money and nothing else for them. “Spotify doesn't pay Apple” oh cry me a river.

[-] dalekcaan@lemm.ee 23 points 8 months ago

Despite that success, and the App Store’s role in making it possible, Spotify pays Apple nothing. That’s because Spotify — like many developers on the App Store — made a choice. Instead of selling subscriptions in their app, they sell them on their website. And Apple doesn’t collect a commission on those purchases.

Oh noooooo, Apple is only making most of the money, instead of all the money 😭

Eat shit and die, Apple

[-] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 20 points 8 months ago

It’s as if Ford wanted a dividend of all contractors revenue that use a F150.

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[-] sunbeam60@lemmy.one 21 points 8 months ago

And it’s so utterly ignorant of WHY the fine was issued. This isn’t about a competitors market position, it’s about Apple using its own dominant market position to push its own service. Using a monopoly to create another monopoly is anti-competitive.

[-] EarMaster@lemmy.world 17 points 8 months ago

I am wondering if it's really true, that Spotify pays nothing to Apple. If my information is correct every app provider needs to have at least one active Apple Developer subscription (in the case of Spotify there is probably far more than just one account involved). If it is true that Spotify pays nothing to Apple the only possibility is that Apple invited them to bring their app to iOS and granted them free access.

I know 99 USD is not what Apple is after, but it seems dishonest to not disclose this.

[-] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago

They’re just bitter that Spotify is leading the market and not Apple Music and they crybaby because of that. They’ve been bullying Spotify from the beginning and there has been bad blood on both sides for years. Apple has not made it easy for Spotify, why would Spotify give them any more money? They could have worked together, allowing HomePod and Siri to control Spotify and other cross integrations then that would have maybe been a reason to share revenue. But that’s kinda like The Little Red Hen here.

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[-] turkishdelight@lemmy.ml 14 points 8 months ago

It reads like a child throwing a temper tantrum...

[-] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago

Doesn’t it‽ it’s nuts how bad it sounds.

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[-] rottingleaf@lemmy.zip 7 points 8 months ago

... so that Apple fans can identify with it.

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[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 103 points 8 months ago

Seeing horrible actors like apple getting fined gives me a nice hit of dopamine.

[-] Kissaki@feddit.de 71 points 8 months ago

Even though the Commission has fined the company concerned, damages may be awarded by national courts without being reduced on account of the Commission fine.

So if/after Apple's appeal is declined, Spotify - the driving force of this EU investigation - can sue Apple for damages with additional cost to Apple.

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[-] JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 71 points 8 months ago

1.8 billion is around 2% of their last year's net income. At least it's a bit better than the insignificant wristslaps companies tend to get.

[-] anlumo@lemmy.world 57 points 8 months ago

For a middle class person, that’s equivalent of being sued for €1000, with a good chance of getting away with €100 even when losing. When will fines for big multinationals ever be adequate?

[-] namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev 36 points 8 months ago

According to this, the fine includes a punitive damage:

Vestager said that the lump sum of €1.8 billion had been added as a deterrent since the basic amount of the fine, which she compared to a "parking ticket," would have been quite small.

The total fine of €1.84 billion amounts to 0.5% of Apple's worldwide turnover, according to Vestager.

Still not enough in my opinion, but hopefully if this sticks, future damage awards will be even higher. In any case, there will be a lot more fines and regulations coming down on Apple into the future (thanks in large part to the DMA), so even though this is just a single instance, they will hopefully add up pretty significantly in the coming years.

[-] wahming@monyet.cc 35 points 8 months ago

$1.8B is quite a chunk, and the EU is not shy about levying further fines if the behaviour continues.

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[-] maynarkh@feddit.nl 27 points 8 months ago

While I do agree that the fine could be higher, this is not like a US regulatory lawsuit. In the EU, fines have to be paid immediately, and Apple can appeal if it wants and may receive some of the money it paid back. Apple doesn't get to drag it out, and there are no out of court settlements that usually get the fine amount down.

[-] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 48 points 8 months ago
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[-] Auli@lemmy.ca 40 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

So doesn’t Spotify pay them the 100 dollars a year to be a developer? So Apple says they get nothing for from Spotify for developing the platform and tools, but they’re outright lying. And if the 100 isn’t enough increase the price.

Apple just seems like a crying baby in this letter.

[-] Municipal0379@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago

$100 top Apple is literally nothing. So are they technically lying? Yes. But in all actuality $100 means nothing to them.

There’s a LOT to complain about Apple, but this is just semantics.

[-] verdigris@lemmy.ml 16 points 8 months ago

It's very indicative of the culture though. That people pay hundreds of dollars a year just for the privilege of using their products is taken for granted.

[-] barsoap@lemm.ee 28 points 8 months ago

In case anyone is wondering where the money is going: The EU budget. The EU doesn't really get to keep it though because membership fees will be lowered by that amount next year so the actual windfall goes to member state budgets.

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[-] Roflmasterbigpimp@lemmy.world 25 points 8 months ago
[-] uis@lemm.ee 21 points 8 months ago

EU, I belive in you!

[-] Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee 18 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Apple have been getting so many giant fines that it makes me think the EU have really just found their own way of taxing them. Which I'm in favour of.

[-] ConstipatedWatson@lemmy.world 18 points 8 months ago

Good guy EU!

[-] irotsoma@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

Nice to see a reasonably sized fine. In the US it would be like 5 million and they'd spend 10 times that fighting it in court and still not affect their profits for the month.

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[-] 33550336@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago
[-] moon@lemmy.cafe 11 points 8 months ago

Apple abusing its monopoly? Well I'd never!

[-] BilboBargains@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago

Woah, eat shit Apple

[-] ryper@lemmy.ca 7 points 8 months ago

Spotify should have handled their issues with the app store rules but just not making an IOS app. If the biggest music streaming service in the world didn't work with iPhones maybe Apple would have had to reconsider some things.

[-] DinkleDorph@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

They can't just not have an app... They don't have that much leverage over other music streaming services

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this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2024
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