A group representing audio streaming companies in Europe has asked the European Commission to reject Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) proposal in an App Store case, Reuters reported.
Digital Music Europe, which represents companies such as Spotify (SPOT) and Deezer, filed a letter to the EU regulator on Tuesday noting that Apple’s proposal to comply with the agency’s March order — in which the U.S. tech giant was fined around €1.8B (about $1.9B), does not provide concrete and effective remedies — the report added.
“Apple’s new entitlement for music streaming services is a discriminatory program that forces competitors to opt into a new regime run by Apple,” the letter noted.
The Commission said in March that Apple’s App Stores rules for music streaming providers, notably Spotify, were considered “abusive.” Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president of the European Commission, said that “for a decade, Apple has restricted music streaming app developers from informing their consumers about cheaper options available outside of the app.”
In return, Apple had issued a statement criticizing the decision. The company said that the decision was reached despite the Commission’s failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm.
Later, Apple announced measures, which made it easier for music streaming apps on the App Store in the European Economic Area to inform people of other ways to buy digital services, aiming to adhere to the EU’s mandate.
Apple proposed that streaming services can include links to their websites to inform people of payment options outside the App Store and the iPhone maker would take a 27% commission on transactions made via a link.
In April, Apple rejected Spotify’s new version of iOS app with in-app pricing information for users in the EU, as the Luxembourg-based music streaming company did not want to be a part of Apple’s proposal, the report added.