EU hits Apple with €1.8 million antitrust fine. What's the complete matter?

The European Union on Monday hit tech giant Apple with an antitrust fine worth €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion).

The statement said that the company had been unfairly favoring its own music streaming service over those of its rivals by chargin a 30% fee for sales made through apps running on Apple's iOS operating system.

"The Commission found that Apple applied restrictions on app developers preventing them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app," the European Commission said in a statement.

"This is illegal under EU antitrust rules."

The European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, said that the Commission had ordered Apple to remove anti-steering provisions and refrain from similar practices in the future.

She said that the lump sum of €1.8 billion had been added as a deterrant since the basic amount of the fine, which she compared to a "parking ticket," would have been quite small.

The total fine of €1.84 billion euros amounts to 0.5% of Apple's worldwide turnover, according to Vestager.

What did Apple say about the fine?

Apple said that the biggest beneficiary of the decision is the Swedish streaming service Spotify, which sells subscriptions through its own website and not through Apple's app store.

The firm said it would appeal the decision.

"The decision... ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast," the company said in a statement, arguing that the Commission failed "to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm."

"Apple will appeal."