与传统的反垄断法律不同，DMA旨在防止反竞争行为在破坏市场之前发生。根据该法律，欧盟监管机构有权对全球最强大的科技公司处以其全球年销售额的10%作为罚款，对于屡次违规者，罚款最高可达20%，或最高可达每天平均收入的5%的定期罚款。According to reports, institutions are preparing to penalize Apple because Apple has failed to allow application developers to guide users to buy cheaper trades and discounts outside of the App Store. The relevant penalties are based on the new strict "Digital Markets Act". Officials from the European Commission have clashed with Apple multiple times, with Apple CEO Cook once calling the case "political nonsense".
$Apple (AAPL.US)$The company is about to face its first fine under the new digital antitrust rules introduced by the European Union, marking a further escalation of the conflict between Apple and regulatory institutions over its lucrative App Store dominance.
Media reports citing sources familiar with the matter revealed that regulatory institutions are preparing to penalize Apple because it failed to allow app developers to guide users to make transactions and take advantage of deals outside the App Store. The relevant penalties are being prepared under the new strict Digital Markets Act.
Unlike traditional antitrust laws, the DMA aims to prevent anti-competitive behavior before it harms the market. Under this law, EU regulatory institutions are empowered to impose fines of up to 10% of the global annual sales of the world's most powerful technology companies, with fines for repeat offenders being up to 20%, or up to a regular fine of 5% of the average daily revenue.
Last week, Apple's financial report showed revenue of $94.9 billion, with iPhone business revenue at $46.2 billion.
Just a few months ago, Apple was fined 1.84 billion euros (about $2 billion) under traditional EU competition rules for similar behavior. Apple prevented streaming music platform Spotify and other music streaming services from offering users payment options outside the Apple App Store.
In June this year, the EU issued a warning to Apple, demanding that Apple must provide developers with effective ways to guide users away from the App Store, or face penalties.
The European Commission may issue a fine notice before the end of the term of office of Margrethe Vestager, the current European Commissioner for Competition, but it may also be delayed until later this year. The fine may come with regular fines until Apple complies with the relevant laws, and the decision is still being drafted.
During her tenure, Vestager has clashed with Apple several times. Apple CEO Cook has described the European Commission's cases as 'political nonsense'.
Earlier this year, the European Union's antitrust regulatory agency forced Apple to allow third parties to use the iPhone's payment chip for transactions, allowing banks and other services to compete with the Apple Pay platform.
Editor/ping
