Apple could face its first fine over App Store rules in the European Union.
The European Union is preparing to impose another sanction on Apple.
Apple is on the verge of becoming the first company to face a fine for violating the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). According to various media reports, the European Commission is expected to impose this fine after determining that Apple's "anti-steering" practices have harmed competition in the App Store.
This announcement comes after the EU fined Apple 1.84 billion euros (about 2 billion dollars) last March following an investigation into a complaint filed by Spotify. The European Commission concluded that Apple limited developers' ability to direct users to cheaper purchasing options outside of the App Store, which is considered illegal under the DMA.
Although the exact amount of the fine has not yet been revealed, DMA regulations stipulate that companies can be fined up to 10% of their global annual revenue, and up to 20% in the case of repeated violations. Given Apple's revenue from last year, the initial fine could potentially reach up to 38 billion dollars. The Commission is expected to announce the penalty sometime this month, before Margrethe Vestager, the competition chief, leaves her position.
Additionally, Apple is also facing an investigation into whether it is undermining alternative app stores within the EU. Furthermore, in September, the European Union secured a payment of 13 billion euros (approximately 14.4 billion dollars) from Apple for unpaid taxes. It has been reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook even contacted former President Donald Trump to express his concerns over the fines the company has accumulated.
