EU Commission fines Apple over €1.8 billion over abusive App store rules for music streaming providers

Lemmyseewhatsup@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 727 points – Press corner
ec.europa.eu

The European Commission has fined Apple over €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps to iPhone and iPad users (‘iOS users') through its App Store. In particular, the Commission found that Apple applied restrictions on app developers preventing them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app (‘anti-steering provisions'). This is illegal under EU antitrust rules.

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That’s on Spotify, HomePods have been able to stream from other music services for years: https://screenrant.com/apple-homepod-supported-music-services-how-many/

It's very much not on Spotify. It supports services apple decided aren't competing with Apple Music. Look at all the things missing, as your article points out.

It's crazy how much bullshit Apple can pull, and even semi educated people will come to their defense blaming other people for apples failings.

It supports services apple decided aren’t competing with Apple Music.

So, Apple's in the wrong because Spotify didn't add the Siri music API?

In 2020, Apple did a HomePod Siri music API, and some services, such as Pandora, have adopted it.
Unfortunately, Spotify, the biggest music streaming service, has still not implemented this

https://9to5mac.com/2023/09/21/ios-17-play-spotify-music-on-homepod/

It’s worth mentioning Apple has released a new API for music streaming apps allowing them to be controlled by Siri through a HomePod. However, Spotify, for whatever reason, has refused to implement the software into its app on iOS.

https://www.techradar.com/audio/speakers/apple-homepod-finally-gets-hands-free-spotify-thanks-to-this-ios-17-workaround

Like, I get it: the internet has a hate boner for Apple, and in a lot cases it's justified. But it's 100% on Spotify for this one.

And coincidentally YouTube, Spotify, and Amazon Music, all of Apple Musics competition, just all happened to not implement this? All of Apples competition just decided to not add a pretty critical function to the people of that ecosystem? When they all do it in Google's?

Yeah, I don't buy that. At all. Sure the API might be there, but you know who gatekeeps those APIs? Apple. This smells a lot more like Apples fued with Google over turn by turn directions bullshit. Especially when we can see how blatantly hostile to Spotify Apple is willing to be.

It seems a lot more likely that Apple is holding that API over their heads and refusing to allow access to it, than it does that all their Apple Music competition just happens to have all conveniently forgotten to implement a pretty core feature in Apple's ecosystem, while remembering to do it in Googles.

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