DMA violation: EU plans heavy fine against Apple
The EU Commission is about to impose a hefty fine on Apple for violating the Digital Markets Act. Billions of euros are at stake.
EU logo on the Berlaymont building in Brussels in the wrong colors: Crackdown on Apple?
(Image: PP Photos/Shutterstock)
It was already known that the EU Commission under Competition Commissioner Margrete Vestager assumes that Apple is in breach of the new Digital Markets Act (DMA). Now a large fine is apparently being prepared against the iPhone company, as the financial news agency Bloomberg reported on Tuesday evening. Apple is to pay for "anti-competitive practices in the App Store". It could be worth billions of euros.
Already almost two billion because of Spotify
Apple recently had to fork out a lot of money in the EU: after a final defeat before the European Court of Justice, 13 billion euros due to subsidy violations at the EU headquarters in Ireland and 1.8 billion euros due to App Store disadvantages against the music service Spotify. Now the "big" DMA fine is looming. Vestager's team is preparing the fine after the iPhone manufacturer did not allow app developers to direct users to (possibly cheaper) offers outside the App Store, people familiar with the case told Bloomberg.
It is apparently planned that the penalty will be implemented before the end of Vestager's term of office this month – as a kind of final highlight of her work as Competition Commissioner. However, it could also take until the end of the year, it was said. Neither Apple nor the EU Commission initially commented on the report.
There is (a lot of) money at stake
The EU Commission officially warned Apple in June that it must give developers new opportunities to advertise their products outside the App Store. The iPhone manufacturer recently presented a compliance plan. In addition to iOS, iPadOS is also regulated.
Under the DMA, Apple faces a massive fine. It serves to prevent anti-competitive behavior as early as possible, at least according to the legislator. Payments amounting to 10 percent of global annual turnover are threatened, which will double if the infringements continue. Regular penalties of 5 percent of daily turnover are also conceivable. Vestager has regularly clashed publicly with Apple, with the Commission also pursuing proceedings against Google and Meta. However, these rarely make the headlines. Apple CEO Tim Cook once described the EU tax demand in the Ireland dispute as "political crap" – an unusual statement for the otherwise rather reserved manager.
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