The EU is threatening Apple with a fine of 500 million euros for restricting competition for music streaming services in iOS. As part of the DMA, Apple will have to change its rules.

Apple faces a hefty fine, the Financial Times knows. The European Commission would fine the iPhone maker up to 500 million euros for anti-competitive practices in music streaming services in the App Store. This fine is the result of a long-standing complaint from Spotify, which the streaming giant submitted to the EU in 2019.

According to Spotify, its own music streaming service Apple Music would be favored in iOS. Spotify refers to the mandatory commissions that Apple takes on app purchases and the ban on alternative payment systems in the App Store. Music streaming services like Spotify pass these additional costs on to users, so subscription prices for iOS users are usually higher than for Android. Exact user numbers for Apple Music are rare, but the streaming service is Spotify’s main competitor worldwide.

DMA is just around the corner

In 2022, Apple already made a small concession regarding “reader apps”, a broad term that includes content collection apps like Netflix and therefore also Spotify, but more than allowing access to its own account management Link website. Places that was’ That’s not the case either. Spotify is anything but satisfied with this.

Under pressure from the DMA, Apple has to give significantly more freedom to third-party providers that offer applications for iOS. In addition to allowing external payment systems, it will also be possible to “sideload” applications outside of the Apple Store. The rules come into effect on March 7, so Apple is already busy integrating them into iOS, although the way Apple is implementing the DMA obligations has also drawn some criticism.