Antitrust regulators intervened following a complaint made bySpotifyback in 2019.
The Swedish streaming giant argued that ApplesApp Storerules harmed consumer choice and broke competition law.
After a lengthy investigation, the EU took Spotifys side.
Known as anti-steering provisions, these restrictions are illegal under EU antitrust rules.
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This is illegal under EU antitrust rules, so today we have fined Apple over 1.8 billion.
The eye-popping sum is the third-biggest antitrust penalty ever imposed by the European Commission, the EUs executive branch.
Its also far larger than reports had predicted.
Citing multiple sources, both the Financial Times and Reuters had expected a fine ofaround 500mn.
The EUs intervention, however, will not end the dispute.
Apple has already pledged to appeal the decision.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
