Apple was hit with an EU antitrust fine of over 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion) on Monday, its first ever, for preventing Spotify and other music streaming services from informing users of payment options outside its App Store.
The European Commission's decision was triggered by a 2019 complaint by Swedish music streaming service Spotify over this restriction and Apple's 30% App Store fees.
The European Union competition enforcer said Apple's restrictions constituted unfair trading conditions, a relatively novel argument in an antitrust case and also used by the Dutch antitrust agency in a decision against Apple in 2021 in a case brought by dating app providers.
The EU competition enforcer said it added an additional lump sum of 1.8 billion euros to the basic amount as a deterrent to Apple and because a significant part of the harm caused by Apple's conduct was non-monetary. It did not say what the basic amount was.
"For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store," EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.