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EU hits Apple with $2B fine |
The European Commission fined Apple nearly $2 billion in an antitrust penalty for how the tech giant's app store rules impacted the music streaming market, the commission announced Monday. |
© Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images |
The 1.8 billion euro fine is the first issued by the European Union against the U.S.-based tech giant over antitrust violations. The penalty stems from a long-running investigation that started with a complaint by the music streaming company Spotify. The ruling targets Apple's so-called anti-steering provisions — rules imposed by Apple that prevent music streaming app developers from fully informing customers using Apple's iOS operating system about alternative and cheaper subscription services available outside of their apps. Apple operates a music streaming app, Apple Music, which competes with Spotify. The EU found Apple's anti-steering provision amounts to "unfair trading conditions" and is "neither necessary nor appropriate" to protect Apple's commercial interests. The rules instead "negatively affect the interests of iOS users," the commission said. Apple said it will appeal the decision, pushing back strongly on the allegations of anti-competitive behavior in a blog post. Apple's post highlights Spotify's popularity as a streaming service in pushing back on the allegations. The tech giant said Sweden-based Spotify has a 56 percent share of Europe's music streaming market. Spotify in a statement cheered the decision as an "important moment in the fight for a more open internet for consumers," adding that "we're looking forward to the next steps that will hopefully clearly and conclusively address Apple's long-standing unfair practices." The landmark fine for Apple released by the EU comes the same week that Europe's new antitrust rules under the Digital Markets Act go into effect. The rules will force five companies deemed gatekeepers, including Apple, to adjust their rules to comply with the new competition standards. Read more in a full report at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Rebecca Klar and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. |
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How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: |
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As former President Donald Trump seeks Black voter support, some of his followers have also begun targeting Black voters – with fake images, according to a report by BBC Panorama. The news organization on Monday reported finding dozens of deepfakes portraying Black people supporting the former president. In one of the AI-generated images, conservative radio show host Mark Kaye and his team created an image of Trump … |
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| A new satellite designed to track global methane pollution is set to launch from California on Monday, taking the next step toward a goal of increasing accountability for some of the world's largest polluters and reducing greenhouse gas emissions overall. The satellite, MethaneSAT, was developed by a subsidiary of the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) over six years. It will observe and track total methane emissions … |
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Apple faces a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the company holds an illegal monopoly over digital storage for its customers. The suit, filed Friday, claims "surgical" restraints prevent customers from effectively using any service except its iCloud storage system. iCloud is the only service that can host certain data from the company's phones, tablets and computers, including application data and device settings. Plaintiffs … |
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News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: |
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Anthropic releases new AI model |
Anthropic, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup backed by Google, released the latest version of its generative AI model Claude, which it claims can outperform OpenAI's GPT-4, TechCrunch reported. |
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India asks tech firms to obtain approval on AI tools |
India has asked tech companies to seek approval on AI tools before releasing them to the public, after Google's new AI chatbot said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of implementing policies characterized as "fascist," Reuters reported. |
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Branch out with other reads on The Hill: |
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Do AI video-generators dream of San Pedro? Madonna among early adopters of AI's next wave |
Whenever Madonna sings the 1980s hit "La Isla Bonita" on her concert tour, moving images of swirling, sunset-tinted clouds play on the giant arena screens behind her. To get that ethereal look, the pop legend embraced a still-uncharted branch of generative artificial intelligence – the text-to-video … |
The winner in the Oscar race this year is "Oppenheimer" with 13 nominations, followed by the otherworldly "Poor Things" with 11 and the period epic "Killers of the Flower Moon" with 10. This year’s Oscars race come after a bruising 2023 that was marred by strikes and work stoppages for the … |
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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The Biden administration is ramping up urgency around securing a temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war as it faces its own domestic pressures … Read more |
| Keith Olbermann called for the Supreme Court to be dissolved and took aim at the court's Democratic-appointed justices Monday, after a unanimous ruling … Read more |
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