Apple Appeals 18 Billion Euros Fine Imposed by EU

TapTechNews May 21, according to Bloomberg, Apple is appealing an 18 billion euros (TapTechNews note: currently about 14.148 billion Chinese yuan) fine imposed by the European Commission after it found that Apple hindered fair competition from music streaming rivals such as Spotify Technology SA.

According to unnamed sources, Apple has filed an appeal with the European General Court in Luxembourg, attempting to reverse the March ruling.

The EU sanctions against Apple also include an order to stop it from preventing music streaming apps from informing users of cheaper subscription methods outside the App Store. This investigation originated from a complaint by Spotify based in Stockholm five years ago, where Spotify claimed that they were forced to raise their monthly subscription price to cover related costs due to Apple's alleged monopoly in the way it operates the App Store.

The European Commission, the EU's antitrust agency, said it is ready to defend all decisions in court.

Apple refused to comment, only referring to a previous blog post in which Apple said the EU regulator failed to find conclusive evidence that any consumer rights were damaged.

Apple's current appeal marks another legal battle with the EU regulator. Previously, the EU regulator had imposed a record 13 billion euros in tax fines on Apple for Irish state aid issues. Due to Apple's victory in the early rounds, the final outcome is still uncertain.