Apple Faces Financial Sanctions from European Commission for App Store Violation of Competition Rules

The European Commission has opened the way to strong financial sanctions against Apple after determining that its App Store does not comply with the bloc’s competition rules. In a preliminary conclusion, the Commission stated that the App Store rules violate the Digital Markets Law (LMD) by preventing app developers from freely directing consumers to alternative channels for offers and content. The LMD is one of the two regulatory pillars with which the EU seeks to regulate the operation of digital giants like Apple in the European space.

The Commission had already opened an investigation on March 25 into the App Store in light of the competition rules determined by the LMD. The Commission informed Apple of its preliminary conclusion, and Apple now has the opportunity to respond in writing to the EU’s position. If the EU’s conclusion is confirmed, it will have to adopt a decision by the end of March 2025 and may impose a fine of up to 10% of Apple’s global turnover, which totaled 383 billion euros in the year ending September 2023.

The LMD grants the European Commission