The European Union is set to slap Apple with a €500 million fine for allegedly breaking EU law over access to its music streaming service.

According to a report from the Financial Times, the fine is expected to be announced early next month and is the culmination of a European Commission investigation into whether the iPhone maker has used its own platform to favour its service over those offered by competitors.

The investigation was launched after Spotify made a formal complaint to regulators in 2019.

The report claims the report will say that Apple’s actions are illegal and go against EU laws which enforce competition in the single market. It will also accuse Apple of abusing its position and imposing anti-competitive trading practices on rivals under “unfair trading conditions.”

In addition to the €500 million fine, Apple will be barred from blocking music services from letting users outside the App Store switch to cheaper alternatives, the report claims.

While a number of Apple’s competitors have faced heavy fines from the EU, the iPhone maker has never been fined 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.

The case brings the incoming Digital Markets Act into focus, with new laws defining Big Tech firms including Apple, Amazon and Google as ‘gatekeepers’. Said gatekeepers will face tougher rules and be made to allow rivals to share information about their services.

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