Apple fined USD 2 billion for Using its App Store to Upset Competition

The European Union (EU) has fined US company Apple, which makes the world’s most popular iPhone, $1.8 billion for using the App Store to suppress competition. Apple was accused of preventing app developers from providing iOS users with information about alternative and lower-priced music subscriptions.

A media Report According to, doing so is illegal under EU’s antitrust rules. This report states that Apple has been operating in this manner for almost a decade. This means that many users paid higher prices for music streaming subscriptions. Sweden’s music streaming service Spotify had filed a complaint against the company regarding this. Apple was found guilty in the investigation that followed. Recently, the EU took action against some big tech companies. In this, Google and Meta, which runs the social media site Facebook, were fined heavily. These companies were accused of adopting unfair practices in the online classified ad market. Apart from this, the EU also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Apple. Apple A separate investigation was also launched into the mobile payments service of .

In India too, apprehensions have been raised about the dominance of companies like Google and Meta on the Internet. Last month, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said that the revenue sharing model between digital news publishers and big tech companies has been tilted by these companies and this is a matter of concern for the government. He said that there has been a big change in the country regarding the digital and tech segment. The country is no longer seen as a place to start a low-cost back office, but as an important partner. Chandrashekhar said, “We are concerned about the big imbalance between those who create content and those who help monetize it. From a policy point of view, we want to keep the Internet open. We do not want monetization on the Internet to be in the control of one, two or three companies.”

He had said that the Digital India Act will solve the problem of imbalance seen between digital news publishers and big tech companies. Last year, Google had pleaded the Supreme Court to dismiss the orders given against the company for abusing its dominant position in the Android market.