Apple fined Archives - Gizmochina

Apple Fined a Whopping $2 Billion by the European Commission, Here’s Why

Anubhav — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 16:07:54 +0000

The European Commission has fined Apple a hefty €1.8 billion (around $1.95 billion) for anti-competitive practices related to music streaming apps on iPhones and iPads. The issue stemmed from Apple’s dominant position in the app market, which they allegedly abused by restricting how music streaming app developers operate on their devices. Last month, there were talks of a $500 million fine, but this is a huge step-up from that.

The EU deemed Apple’s practices illegal since they limited user choices

These restrictions, called “anti-steering provisions,” prevented developers from informing users about cheaper subscription options available outside the App Store, including prohibiting them from including links to their own websites or mentioning price differences between in-app subscriptions and those offered elsewhere. The EU deemed these practices illegal as they limited user choice, potentially led to inflated prices, and hindered competition by giving Apple an unfair advantage.

The fine amount considers the ten-year duration of the violation, Apple’s significant market size, and the need to deter future similar offenses. Additionally, the EU has ordered Apple to remove these anti-steering provisions and refrain from repeating such practices in the future.

This decision could potentially lead to a more competitive music streaming landscape on Apple devices, with users benefiting from more transparent pricing and a wider range of subscription options. Furthermore, it promotes a fairer and more open app market for developers. It’s important to remember that Apple has the right to appeal the decision, but this ruling serves as a strong message for fair competition and consumer rights in the digital age.

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Apple Hit With a $17 Million Fine by the Russian Anti-Monopoly Agency

Sean — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:51:59 +0000

Apple has just been hit with another multi million dollar fine. The company is facing a 17.4 million US Dollar fine in Russia by the nation’s federal anti monopoly service (FAS) for abusing its leading position in the local market.

The latest fine imposed on the Cupertino based giant follows after a ruling made in July 2022. At that moment, the agency found that the iPhone maker was in breach of local laws with its App Store rules. These rules had forced developers to use only the payment system that was provided by the company. In other words, the FAS basically ruled that Apple was taking advantage of its market dominance in the region.

As per an official statement, the regulator stated that “App Store rules prohibited iOS app developers from informing in-app customers about the possibility to pay for purchases outside of the App Store, as well as from using alternative payment methods. The company demanded that developers remove links to their own Internet sites and change the functionality of the application to prevent registration forms from leading to external sites.”

Apart from this, a similar ruling was made by the FAS last July against another tech giant, Google. It is still unclear how the agency will enforce this fine, since Apple has already announced its withdrawal from Russia following the Ukraine invasion. So stick around for more updates regarding this matter.

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Brazil Court Fines Apple $19 million for shipping iPhones without chargers

Anurag — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:18:14 +0000

Last month, the Justice Ministry in Brazil fined Apple $2.34 million for selling iPhones without chargers and also ordered the company to stop selling any iPhone that does not come with a charger in the box. Today, the Cupertino company was again slapped with a huge fine for the very same thing.

As per a Reuters report, Brazil’s Sao Paulo civil court on Thursday fined Apple 100 million reais ($19 million) and ordered that new iPhones sold in the country must come with battery chargers.

In his ruling, Judge Caramuru Afonso Francisco also ordered Apple to provide chargers to all consumers in Brazil who purchased iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 devices in the past two years. However, it is not a final decision and can be appealed further.“It is evident that, under the justification of a ‘green initiative,’ the defendant imposes on the consumer a required purchase of charger adaptors that were previously supplied along with the product,” said the court’s decision.

Apple was previously fined nearly $2.5 million by Brazil’s justice ministry over the same issue, and it was barred from selling the iPhone 12 and 13 without chargers. In response to this, the tech giant said that not including a power adapter with the ‌iPhone‌ has environmental benefits and cuts down on waste.

With the 2020 launch of the iPhone 12 lineup, Apple ceased to provide chargers with its phones. Other manufacturers like Samsung and Google also followed the lead and stopped including power adaptors with their premium devices.

In related news, EU legislators recently approved a new directive requiring manufacturers to offer USB-C as a common charging port across a wide range of devices by 2024. This will force Apple to switch over to USB-C chargers for its upcoming iPhones.