Apple (AAPL) shares lost more than 3% of their value following news of a giant fine levied by the European Commission in an anti-trust case that has seen the company pitted against Spotify (SPOT). The tech giant has been told to pay a total of $2bn after being found guilty of restricting its rivals in the music streaming business.
Apple shares fall following $2bn fine
The case revolves around Spotify, which complained in 2019 that its users were prevented from finding out about alternative payment options apart from the App Store. The EU raised a case last year based on this and other companies whose customers are in the same situation.
These restrictions were classed as unfair trading conditions in the recent judgement, making this Apple’s first EU fine and one of the largest ever levied by the European authorities.
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News of the fine being four times what had been expected soon saw AAPL shares drop over 3% on Monday, a trend that continued on Tuesday. It has been reported that the fine was so big because the basic figure of €40m had a huge deterrent added to it, equivalent to 0.5% of Apple’s total global turnover.
A Spotify statement welcomed the decision, but said that it “does not solve Apple’s bad behaviour towards developers beyond music streaming”. The Cupertino-based company is set to appeal the fine, and it’s believed that taking it to the General Court in Luxembourg could see the case drag on for years. In the meantime, Apple will have to pay the fine and comply with the court’s requirements to no longer carry out this approach.
