Apple has received a fine of no less than 500 million euros from the European Commission. The company breaks the Digital Markets Act according to the committee.
EU imposes Apple fine
The European Commission has imposed on Apple a million fine. The company has to pay no less than 500 million euros for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is a relatively new law of the European Commission, which must ensure that tech companies get less power within the European Union. The DMA is also intended to create a fairer competitive position for smaller developers.
The new legislation requires, among other things, that Apple offers developers the opportunity to distribute apps outside the App Store around and without the costs of the App Store. For this reason, Apple allows alternative web stores to the iPhone since iOS 17.4. The DMA already started in March 2024, but according to the European Commission, Apple is still not satisfactory with the new legislation. As a result, Apple has now received a million fine.
App Store violates legislation
According to the European Commission, Apple violates the rules of the DMA with the policy in the App Store. The company does not allow developers in the App Store to refer to subscriptions and offers on external websites. Apple stops this because there are committees for subscriptions offered via the App Store. In this way Apple earns money from subscriptions, provided that they are closed through their own web store.
The subscriptions in the App Store are often more expensive due to these committees than on external websites. Developers should not refer to a cheaper option on a (own) website, because this is prohibited by Apple. According to the European Commission, with that prohibition, Apple is violating the rules of the DMA, for which the company now receives a million fine. The European Commission is of the opinion that Apple has sent users to take out a subscription in the App Store, so that the company earns money from it.
Fine can be even higher
Apple has to pay 500 million euros for violating European legislation. That fine can be even higher, because the company has sixty days to adjust the policy in the App Store. Does Apple not do that within two months? Then new fines from the European Commission can follow. It may not be that far, because Apple still has the possibility to object to the million fine.
Apple is not the only tech company that has received a million fine, Meta must also pay a fine of 200 million euros. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram had users pay so that they were not shown personalized advertisements. Meta has since adjusted the policy, but that only happened in November 2024. As a result, the amount at Meta is lower than the fine that Apple has to pay. Apple now has sixty days to come up with a response. Do you want to stay informed of this? Then register for our newsletter!
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