Apple has however announced its intention to appeal the decision of the fine.
Brussels has imposed a historic fine of 1.84 billion euros ($2 billion) on Apple for hindering competition from music streaming rivals through restrictions on its App Store.
This marks the iPhone maker’s first-ever penalty for breaching EU rules, with a basic penalty of 40 million euros being significantly inflated by a substantial lump sum included as a deterrent—a first for the European Union’s antitrust authorities.
The European Commission initiated charges against Apple last year after Swedish streaming service Spotify and others alleged that Apple prevented them from informing users of payment options outside its App Store.
The Commission found Apple’s restrictions to constitute unfair trading conditions, a relatively novel argument in an antitrust case, also used by the Dutch antitrust agency in a 2021 decision against Apple in a case brought by dating app providers. The EU ordered Apple to cease such conduct.
Apple has announced its intention to appeal the decision, with a ruling at the Luxembourg-based General Court likely to take several years. In the meantime, Apple must pay the fine and comply with the EU order.
The company’s shares experienced a 3% decline following the announcement.
The NFL has found the next presenting sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show Apple Music has been named the official sponsor of the annual music and pop culture event, succeeding Pepsi, which announced earlier this year that it would give up its role in presenting the show. Pepsi had been the lead sponsor of the halftime show for the past decade. Apple Music’s first Super Bowl Halftime show will take place Feb. 12, 2023 in Arizona, with performers still to be announced.
This past year’s show featured Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige perform. Previous shows have seen some of the biggest names in music perform, from Beyonce and Prince to Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez.
In fact, the show has become a much bigger event than the 12 or 15 minutes that make up the actual musical performance. The halftime shows featuring Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and The Weeknd have become the basis for documentaries about the lead-up to the performance, while Beyonce used her show to announce a global tour.
Indeed, an NFL source told The Hollywood Reporter last year that if Pepsi did pull out, the league was hoping to find a new sponsor that could make the show “bigger, taking different aspects of it and making it stand way outside of the 12 minutes.”
Billboard
