The European Commission has claimed that Apple is allegedly unfairly favoring its music streaming service over rivals. Since then, Apple has appealed the $2 billion dollar fine imposed by the European Union. The fine was issued as part of an ongoing worldwide effort to get a grip on the global dominance of big tech companies through financial penalties.
Margrethe Vestager, a commissioner for the European Commission, asserted to Billboard that Apple had allegedly “abused its dominant position” for almost a decade by allegedly restricting rival music streaming apps from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the App Store. Apple has always strongly denied those claims, stating that the EU investigators had failed to bring forth any credible evidence of the alleged harm to consumers.
Although this case can be ruled in favor of either way, Apple has had some success against the EU in previous cases. In 2020, U judges overturned a previous ruling by the commission that claimed that Apple had allegedly underpaid 13 billion euros in taxes to the Irish government.
This latest court fight is far from over. This case could last very long and take several years before any ruling is made by the General Court.