Apple and The Verge are at War: Spotify should take full advantage of the European Commission’s recent EU ruling on their anti-steering rules

Spotify is taking full advantage of this ruling. The change would mean that Apple’s users in the EU could learn about the different features of the Premium version of the app. Links that lead to its website will also be included. This will look similar in the image included above.

The Commission took into account Apple’s total turnover and market cap while setting the fine, as well as incorrect information submitted by Apple during the administrative procedure.

In addition, US courts ruled that Apple needs to allow developers to link out to other payment methods, as a result of a legal challenge from Unreal Games. But when Apple did start allowing developers to link out, it maintained that it would still take a cut of up to 27 percent from any digital purchases — a small reduction over its typical 30 percent rate. Apple was called out by their critics for showing that they would protect the profits they exact on the backs of developers and consumers under their app store monopoly.

Spotify tells The Verge that it’s planning to make this change in response to the European Commission’s ruling on Monday, which fined Apple €1.84 billion (about $2 billion) for “abusing its dominant position” in the music streaming app distribution business. The European Commission believes that Apple’s anti-steering rules make it difficult to give users information about alternative and cheaper music subscription services.

For years the two companies have been at War and Apple accused the tech giant of exploiting its dominance to stifle innovation. In their long-running conflict, each has made incursions into the other’s territory. Apple Music launched in 2015 and it wasn’t long before Spotify claimed that Apple was able to discount its prices because it didn’t have to charge the same App Store fees as its competitors. In 2019, Spotify began an ambitious podcast spending spree, splashing out on high profile shows, in another direct challenge to Apple.

Spotify isn’t going to launch the in-app purchases it previously planned for the European Union, at least right now. Instead, if Apple approves a newly submitted update, it’s going to try to do the next best thing: provide pricing information within the app and link users to its subscription options.

In the year 2022, Apple began to allow reader apps to include links to their websites. Apple still prevents language reader apps from telling users how much a subscription costs, even if they point users toward their link.