Apple has been fined €1.8bn (£1.54bn) by the EU for favouring its own music streaming service rather than rivals.
Apple did not fully inform their device users there were alternative and cheaper subscription services for more than a decade, said the EU executive, the European Commission.
As a result, iPhone and iPad users paid “significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions”, it said, and Apple abused its dominant position as the provider of music streaming services in its app store.
The fine has been issued due to a complaint by streaming service Spotify which then launched a five-year EU investigation focused on how Apple prevented app developers from telling users of cheaper ways to pay for subscriptions without going through an app.
It found that Apple stopped streaming services, such as Spotify, from letting users know the cost of non-Apple subscription offers.
The tech giant banned app makers from “fully informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services outside of the app,” said the EU’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager.
