Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), risks a fine of several tens of billions of euros in the European Union following an investigation to be initiated by the authorities in 2019. The investigation is based on a complaint made by Spotify, the Swedish company complaining about non-competitive practices that the Americans have in Europe, and if they are guilty, they can pay a fine of up to 10% of the total receipts, or over 20 billion dollars.
Apple charges a 30% commission for any kind of sales made through the AppStore, or through applications from the store, and those from Spotify say that this goes against the European regulations in force. Spotify no longer wants to pay any commission when people buy subscriptions for its services, as is happening now, saying that even Amazon does not pay commissions for products sold through its application.
Apple: Fine of TENS OF BILLIONS of Dollars in the EU
Spotify is also upset that Apple does not give app developers access to native functions for iOS, which are dedicated exclusively to Apple Music. Spotify would like to pay nothing to those from Apple for the sales they make through iOS, and the EU will investigate whether the Swedes' wishes are based on legal provisions, or the desire to make a profit.
After considering the complaint and surveying customers, rivals and others in the market, the EU competition commission has decided to launch a formal antitrust investigation into Apple's conduct, according to three people familiar with the probe.
If the EU decides that Spotify can sell subscriptions through the iOS application without paying any commission to Apple, then the Americans would effectively be left with nothing. In this situation, it is possible that Apple will remove the application from the AppStore, especially if it will not end up paying the fine of 10% of its receipts, or over 20 billion dollars.
