Apple is set to face the first-ever fine under the European Union’s new digital antitrust rules for Big Tech, “representing an escalation of a clash with regulators over the dominance of its hugely profitable App Store” reports Bloomberg (a subscription is required to read the article).
Watchdogs are readying the penalty after the iPhone maker failed to allow app developers to steer users to cheaper deals and offers outside of the App Store, the article adds, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the case.”
The new digital antitrust rules — dubbed the Digital Markets Act (DMA) — are designed to “ensure fair competition in the digital marketplace.” The fine mentioned by Bloomberg could fine could be levied before EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager leaves office in November — or it could be pushed to a later date in 2024.
The EU is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. Its policies aim “to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development.”
