1. Sure enough, the EU has begun to take serious action. According to the latest reports, the European Union has filed its first antitrust lawsuit against Apple. The total amount of 50 million has not been disclosed, but it is reported that it is as high as 1.8 billion, or about 14 billion yuan.
EU regulators have deemed it illegal for Apple to prohibit app developers from using information about increasingly cheaper subscriptions outside of its app stores. In short, the EU believes that Apple has abused the AppStore rules and monopolized the market.
This is one of the largest financial penalties imposed on tech giants in the history of the European Union, with Google being fined a total of 8 billion coins by the European Union a few years ago. But Google is still in the law.
Internet analyst Yu Bin told NetEase Technology's "Behavior" column that the core reason behind this decision is that regulators believe that Apple is illegally restricting app developers through its AppStore policy, which provides users with cheaper alternative** subscription service information. In particular, the EU argues that Apple's practices constitute an unfair restriction on competition and could harm consumers' right to choose and potential interests.
2. Apple is not waiting for the EU to punish it. The lake will be called. The company argues that EU regulators have failed to provide any credible evidence that consumer interests and the integrity of a competitive market have been compromised.
Apple also announced that Spotify will not pay for Apple's value, although these services help build, update, and share apps among Apple users in 160 countries and territories around the world, while also hoping to change the rules of Apple's AppStore.
Apple also used the word "sarcasm" very strongly in response to the EU penalty. According to Lacs, EU consumers have more choices than ever before. Ironically, it was announced today that the position of the leaders of successful European companies in the digital market is called competition.
3. After more than 10 years of complaining, is the balance tilting in favor of Spotify? Although everyone is complaining about the "tribute to Apple" note, this is only a verbal crossover, and only a few people take it seriously, and the global **stream** giant Spotify is one of them.
In 2013, Spotify was the first to speak out against AppStore restrictions and commissions; In 2015, the European Commission conducted an antitrust investigation; In March 2019, Spotify filed a complaint with the EU antitrust regulator, accusing Apple of monopolizing competition.
Spotify has two main demands, one is an alternative for Apple to install in-app purchases on the iOS system, and the other is to allow developers to communicate directly with consumers.
After more than 10 years of pushing and pulling, Europe has finally given up on Apple, and the scales are beginning to tilt in favor of Spotify.
4. Is Apple a tax bellwether that "breaks" the border wall? What does the EU mega expo mean for Apple? Zhang Shule, an Internet analyst, told NetEase Technology's "Habits" column: "Although this money is insignificant compared to Apple's revenue, the EU is just a proposal that the whole world will follow." Apple will be forced to adjust its operations globally. "Method. ”
He believes that Apple's foundation is innovation, and that Apple's revenue is based on this innovation. Apple's monopoly "wall" is largely exposed and gradually dismantled.
5. Apple's "** will be the trend of the times. Zhang Shule believes that Apple's backwardness is the trend of the times, and it should make its products and applications universal, and release more licenses while ensuring the safety and stability of the system.
Internet analyst Yu Bin also believes that similar to the EU's monopoly penalty on Apple, it will definitely come. This is a good thing for both global and Chinese developers.
6. Under tremendous pressure, Apple has saved money. In order to comply with the relevant provisions of the European Union's Digital Markets Act, Apple announced in early and late January this year (2024) that in March 2024, Apple users in Europe will be able to install software channels through channels other than software. Official store app.
In the future, developers will have the option to place their apps in any store to avoid Apple's 30% AppStore commission, and in-app purchases will no longer need to go through Apple's payment channels.
7. The invaders continued to attack, and the lake area was surrounded on all sides. As for the "Apple tax", Spotify is not the only company facing legal action. Game developer EpicGames has taken Apple to court for this. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed separate claims filed by Apple and EpicGames in a long-running lawsuit against each other over the AppStore rules. This means that from now on, developers can make it clear to users on the app that topping up through channels such as Facebook will bypass Apple's taxes and enjoy a fairer treatment**.
In 2021, it was reported that the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service also imposed a penalty of more than 90.6 billion rubles in fines. Russia's antimonopoly service also asked Apple to remove clauses that allowed Apple to refuse to enter eligible apps into third-party app stores.
Korea Pass 2022 The committee also launched an investigation into the Google Play Store and AppStore for implementing certain app payment methods and other violations against software applications. After investigation, the commission found that Google and Apple abused their monopoly power and awarded Google and Apple 47.5 billion won and 20.5 billion won, respectively. Apples