Apple has received a €1.8 billion fine from the European Commission for "abusing" its dominant market position in the distribution of music streaming apps.

The tech giant broke EU antitrust rules by "restricting" streaming app developers from informing iPhone and iPad users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of its App Store.

The Commission said that the company had also hindered the ability for developers to inform iOS users within their apps about the prices of subscription offers available on the internet outside of the app and the price differences between in-app subscriptions sold through Apple's in-app purchase mechanism and those available elsewhere.

Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president in charge of competition policy at the Commission, said that Apple's conduct has led many of its users to pay "significantly higher prices" for a period of almost ten years.

“Today's decision concludes that Apple's anti-steering provisions amount to unfair trading conditions, in breach of Article 102(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),” she explained. “These anti-steering provisions are neither necessary nor proportionate for the protection of Apple's commercial interests in relation to the App Store on Apple's smart mobile devices and negatively affect the interests of iOS users, who cannot make informed and effective decisions on where and how to purchase music streaming subscriptions for use on their device.”

The fine imposed on Apple was reached based on the European Commission's 2006 guidelines for penalties. In setting the level of the fine, it took into account the duration and gravity of the infringement as well as Apple's total turnover and market capitalisation.

While a number of Apple’s competitors have previously faced heavy fines from the EU, this is the first time the iPhone maker has been given a penalty by Brussels for antitrust violations.

Apple was formally charged by the EU in an anti-competitive probe in 2021, but the commission scrapped a charge of pushing developers to use Apple’s in-app payment system last year.

Last month, Russian authorities said that Apple had paid a $13.65 million fine over its alleged abuse of its dominant position in the in-app payments market.

Apple previously said that it “respectfully disagreed” with the ruling, which said that its distribution of apps through its iOS operating system gave its own products a competitive advantage.

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