The European Commission issued a statement on the 4th, announcing a fine of over 1.8 billion euros imposed on Apple Inc. in the United States for abusing its dominant position in the music streaming application distribution market and violating EU antitrust regulations.
The European Commission investigation shows that Apple has imposed restrictions on music streaming application developers, preventing them from fully informing Apple users of alternative and cheaper music subscription services outside of the application, and preventing them from providing instructions on how to subscribe to such services.
The European Commission said that Apple's "anti guidance clause" constitutes setting unfair trading conditions and violates EU antitrust regulations.
Generally speaking, music streaming users can purchase services within the apps provided in the Apple App Store, but Apple will draw a 30% commission from it; Users can also directly subscribe to services through relevant music websites without paying this portion of the commission fee.
The European Commission stated that after considering factors such as the duration and severity of infringement, Apple's total revenue and market value, the commission has decided to add a one-time fine of 1.8 billion euros to the basic fine amount to ensure that the overall fine against Apple is sufficiently deterrent. According to multiple foreign media reports, this has led to a total fine of 1.84 billion euros (approximately 2 billion US dollars) against Apple.
Apple issued a statement on the same day stating that the European Commission has not provided any reliable evidence of consumer harm, ignoring the reality of a thriving market, intense competition, and rapid growth. Apple will appeal the EU's ruling.