Apple appeals EU’s “unprecedented” $568m fine
Apple has confirmed it will appeal the EU’s $568.6 million (€500m) fine.
The tech giant was fined after it was deemed to have violated EU law by not permitting App Store apps to link, or even make reference to, alternative means of payment that could circumvent Apple’s own storefront, thereby compelling developers to share 30 per cent of their revenue with the megacorp.
While Apple revised its EU App Store rules in response to the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act judgment, The Guardian now reports Apple has launched an appeal, blaming Brussels for the “confusing” revisions it has had to make to its terms.
“Today we filed our appeal because we believe the European Commission’s decision – and their unprecedented fine – go far beyond what the law requires,” Apple wrote, announcing it would appeal to the EU’s general court.
“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.”
A European Commission spokesperson told The Guardian: “We stand ready to defend our decisions in court.”
The UK’s CMA shut down its investigation into Apple’s in-app payment system in August, which was looking into whether the company was in breach of regulations. Around the same time, Apple updated its business terms in the EU to allow developers to link to external payment systems, but it was not enough to satisfy the European Commission, which claimed in a judgment in April that Apple had breached its anti-steering obligations under the DMA.
