Apple has appealed a €500 million ($580 million) fine imposed by the European Union, labeling the penalty as “unprecedented” and the required changes to its App Store as “unlawful.”
Bloomberg reports that tech giant Apple has filed an appeal against the €500 million ($580 million) fine levied by the European Union. The company strongly opposes the penalty, deeming it “unprecedented” and the mandated changes to its App Store policies as “unlawful.”
The fine, announced by the European Commission in April under the Digital Markets Act, was a result of Apple allegedly violating rules related to allowing developers to direct users to make purchases outside of its store. In an effort to comply with local requirements and avoid further penalties, Apple made changes to its EU App Store policies in June.
However, the company remains steadfast in its belief that the European Commission’s decision and the substantial fine go beyond the scope of the law. “As our appeal will show, the EC is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms which are confusing for developers and bad for users. We implemented this to avoid punitive daily fines and will share the facts with the Court,” Apple stated.
The changes implemented in June saw Apple introduce a tiered commission structure, with rates of either five percent or 13 percent, in addition to a two percent user acquisition fee. These rates are dependent on whether developers want their apps to appear in App Store search suggestions, promotional material, or have the ability to receive automatic updates. Apple maintains that this tiered approach, demanded by EU regulators, is more perplexing for both users and developers alike. The company also highlighted that no other app download store is subject to such a structure.
This appeal is the latest development in Apple’s ongoing global App Store saga. Breitbart News previously reported on a California judge blasting the tech giant for “willfully violating” an injunction in the long-running antitrust case between Epic Games and Apple:
The ruling stems from the long-running legal battle between Apple and Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game Fortnite. In 2021, Epic accused Apple of monopolistic behavior due to the strict controls it imposes on app makers. While Judge Rogers largely sided with Apple in that initial case, she required the iPhone maker to allow developers to offer users alternative payment methods outside the App Store.
However, Apple’s response to the injunction drew sharp criticism from the judge. The company required developers who use alternative payment methods to pay a 27 percent fee, which Judge Rogers deemed as an attempt to “thwart the injunction’s goals” and maintain Apple’s revenue stream. She pointedly chided Tim Cook for ignoring advice from his deputy, Phil Schiller, to comply with the injunction and instead choosing to listen to his finance team.
Read more at Bloomberg here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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