Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg)

The European Commission (EC) has sided with Spotify, fining Apple nearly $2 billion for abusive App Store restrictions on developers that it found violated antitrust laws by degrading music streaming apps (other than Apple Music) and spiking prices.

“Apple applied restrictions on app developers preventing them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app (‘anti-steering provisions’),” the EC found.

“This is illegal under EU antitrust rules” and harms consumers “who cannot make informed and effective decisions on where and how to purchase music streaming subscriptions for use on their device,” the EC said.

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