Restricting competition: EU to fine Apple $500 million for the first time

The European Union will impose the first-ever antitrust fine on Apple and force it to change the App Store rules, which they believe hinder fair competition.

Here's What We Know

According to the FT, the $539 million fine will be announced next month. It is also noted that initially, the European Commission wanted to fine Apple 10% of annual sales worldwide.

The Europeans launched the investigation following a complaint from Spotify. It claimed that it had been forced to increase the cost of a monthly subscription to cover the costs associated with alleged pressure from Apple.

The Commission is investigating whether Apple actually informs users of its products about the availability of cheaper music subscription options outside the App Store.

According to sources, the Commission will issue a statement that Apple's actions are illegal and will prohibit it from preventing users from switching to cheaper music services.

It is likely that this fine will be one of the most powerful against large technology companies.

Source: Bloomberg