Apple receives warning strike from the EU over geo-blocking practices
Apple stands to face a fine of up to 4% of its annual revenue
Apple has had a series of back-and-forths with the European Union a lot this year.
Months ago, the tech giant was hit with a €1.84 billion ($2 billion) fine for unfairly restricting music streaming services on its App Store. Later, reports also surfaced suggesting the EU was preparing to impose a penalty as steep as $38 billion for Apple's anti-steering practices.
Now, the European Commission has called out Apple for making it harder for European customers to enjoy its services. It has issued a warning, accusing Apple of unfairly discriminating against users based on location. The Commission claims these practices affect services like the App Store, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, iTunes Store, Books, and Podcasts.
For example, customers are often forced to use payment methods tied to the country where their Apple account is registered. Plus, Apple allegedly restricts access to apps and content available in other EU countries and creates region-specific interfaces on services, limiting users' experience across the EU.
The problem is that these geo-blocking practices are seen as a violation of the EU’s geo-blocking regulation - introduced in 2018 to ensure greater access to goods and services across the EU. The regulation applies to all app stores operating in the EU, and if Apple fails to comply, it could face a fine of up to 4% of its global annual turnover.
The European Commission has given Apple a month to address the accusations and for now, Apple has not yet responded to the warning. However, with Statista reporting that Apple generated over $101 billion in sales across Europe in FY 2024, marking an all-time high for the region, the company is likely to act quickly to resolve the issue and protect its significant revenue stream.
Much like how the company acted swiftly when its iPhone 16 got banned in Indonesia, a major Asian market, and Apple offered to pay $10 million, in a bid to try and get its product back in stores.
Apple’s ongoing run-ins with the European Union highlight how determined the EU is to enforce its laws, regardless of the company’s size. While other tech giants like Google and Microsoft have faced their own EU challenges, none have in recent times experienced as much scrutiny as Apple.
Louis Eriakha
