EU regulators just hit Apple big 2 billion dollars fine on its App Store policies.
And Apple is calling out the company that filed the complaint in the first place: Spotify.
On Monday, Apple released a fairly lengthy statement Accepting a $2 billion fine against the iPhone maker by the European Commission. The huge fine is the result of an EU investigation into a complaint filed against Apple’s App Store.
The complaint, filed by music streaming service Spotify, focuses on Apple’s App Store policies that prohibit app developers from directing users to subscription options outside of the app to avoid Apple’s in-app purchase fees. for the. European Union research concluded That Apple was engaging in anti-competitive practices and violating antitrust laws.
Spotify celebrated The decision of the European Union, which Apple said in its statement that it will appeal.
However, Apple took things even further. In fact, the majority of the statement is spent calling out Spotify.
Here’s what Apple said about Spotify.
Apple pulls no punches in its statement on Spotify.
Titled “The App Store, Spotify, and Europe’s Growing Digital Music Market,” Apple spends the bulk of its statement addressing Spotify instead of the EU decision.
Apple highlighted in its statement that Spotify pays the iPhone maker absolutely nothing for the Spotify app, which Apple says has been “downloaded, re-downloaded, or updated 119 billion times on Apple devices.” .”
Taking things even further, Apple points out that even though Spotify doesn’t pay the company, Apple has worked with Spotify to make sure their app is “Siri, CarPlay, Apple Watch, AirPlay, Widgets, and more.” works with Apple mentions that Spotify uses its tools like TestFlight and Apple’s APIs and that its review team “expedits the majority of reviews” of Spotify app updates in the Apple Store at Spotify’s request.
Apple also doesn’t seem to explicitly point out that Spotify has some monopoly-related issues, saying that the music streaming service “has a 56 percent share of Europe’s music streaming market — more than double that of its nearest competitor.” “
“Despite this success, and the role of the App Store in making it possible, Spotify pays Apple nothing,” Apple says.
“But free isn’t enough for Spotify,” Apple continues. “They also want to rewrite the rules of the App Store – in a way that benefits them more.”
Apple alleges that Spotify wants to accept payments directly within the iOS app, using all of Apple’s tools without participating in the revenue share program that every other developer participates in. Apple mentions how the company offers a “reader rule” policy that allows developers to provide in-app web page links that direct users to account services, which can include billing management and sign-up. do However, Apple says that Spotify has not taken advantage of this option.
“Instead, Spotify wants to bend the rules in their favor by adding subscription costs to their app, without using the App Store’s in-app purchase system,” Apple says. “They want to use Apple’s tools and technologies, distribute on the App Store, and benefit from the trust we’ve built with our users — and pay Apple nothing for it.”
“In short, Spotify wants more.”
Apple ended the statement by saying it would appeal the European Union’s decision. It will be interesting to see how the appeal plays out, but even more compelling is what the future holds for Apple and Spotify’s relationship.