Apple filed an appeal on July 7 against a €500 million fine imposed by the EU and accused Brussels of forcing the US tech giant to make changes that are “bad” for users.
The European Commission in April slapped Apple with a fine for preventing developers from steering customers outside its App Store to access cheaper deals in breach of the bloc’s digital competition rules.
“Today we filed our appeal because we believe the European Commission’s decision — and their unprecedented fine — go far beyond what the law requires,” Apple said.
“As our appeal will show, the commission is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms which are confusing for developers and bad for users. We implemented this to avoid punitive daily fines and will share the facts with the (EU) court,” it added.
US lawmakers have accused the European Commission of weaponising its “regulatory regime” to “silence American speech” online. https://t.co/8w63AUQrwJ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 4, 2025
Apple last month announced changes to its App Store payment rules in Europe to avoid steep new daily fines, including allowing developers to offer different payment options directly to consumers within their apps. The commission is now assessing those changes.
The EU imposed the fine under its landmark Digital Markets Act — which Apple frequently slams, saying it has no choice but to make the changes under threat of large penalties.
The White House has said European Commission fines on Apple and Meta Platforms were a “novel form of economic extortion” that the US would not tolerate. https://t.co/vz4RvgOxv2
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 24, 2025
