Brussels has fined Apple more than €1.8bn for stifling competition from rival music streaming services, the first time the iPhone maker has been punished for breaching EU law.

Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s competition chief, said the tech giant had broken EU antitrust rules for a decade by “restricting developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem”.

She said this amounted to abuse of the group’s dominant position for music streaming on its App Store.

Apple replied that it would appeal against the decision, signalling years of legal fights in EU courts. The group’s shares were down about 2.5 per cent in morning trading.

The commission said it had gone beyond its standard fining procedure to provide a deterrent not just for Apple but for other “companies of a similar size and with similar resources”.

Vestager said that the “traditional part of the fine” — around €40mn — was “quite small, not even a speeding ticket, parking ticket”. As a result, the commission increased the total fine to €1.84bn, which Vestager said amounted to 0.5 per cent of Apple’s worldwide turnover.

She said this amounted to abuse of the group’s dominant position for music streaming on its App Store.

Apple replied that it would appeal against the decision, signalling years of legal fights in EU courts. The group’s shares were down about 2.5 per cent in morning trading.

The commission said it had gone beyond its standard fining procedure to provide a deterrent not just for Apple but for other “companies of a similar size and with similar resources”.

Vestager said that the “traditional part of the fine” — around €40mn — was “quite small, not even a speeding ticket, parking ticket”. As a result, the commission increased the total fine to €1.84bn, which Vestager said amounted to 0.5 per cent of Apple’s worldwide turnover.

The tech giant responded that the commission had reached its decision despite failing to “uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm”, adding that Brussels’ reasoning “ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast”.

The commission began its investigation into Apple in 2019 after music streaming app Spotify launched a complaint accusing the company of anti-competitive behaviour.

EU regulators found that Apple’s actions had resulted in users paying “significantly higher prices” for music streaming services.

The iPhone maker charges a 30 per cent fee for all sales through the App Store, a cost the commission said had been passed on to consumers in the form of higher subscription charges. (The Financial Times)