The reason for the fine is that Spotify and other music streaming services are not allowed to notify customers about payment methods available outside of the Apple app store.
The Swedish music streaming service filed a protest over this restriction and Apple’s 30% fee, which led to the European Commission’s judgment.
The EU competition enforcer said Apple abused its dominant position in the market.
Margrethe Vestager said, Apple had done this by “restricting developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem.
“This is illegal under EU antitrust rules,” she said.
Apple criticised the EU decision, saying it would challenge it in court.
“The decision was reached despite the Commission’s failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm, and ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast,” the company said in a statement.
“The primary advocate for this decision, and the biggest beneficiary, is Spotify, a company based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Spotify has the largest music streaming app in the world, and has met with the European Commission more than 65 times during this investigation,” it said.
Apple added that because the Swedish company sells its subscriptions via its website rather than the app store, it does not receive any fee from them.
