European Union competition chief Margrethe Vestager is set to impose fines on Apple Inc over concerns the US tech giant may have violated EU law, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing several people familiar with the announcement.
The news comes as numerous antitrust cases have been launched against Apple in Europe. Vestager launched the investigation in June last year after Apple was suspected of becoming a "gatekeeper" for its distribution platform.
"We need to ensure that Apple's rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books,” she said at the time.
The announcement comes two years after music streaming app Spotify filed a complaint claiming Apple had taken 30 percent subscription fee to feature apps on its App Store but refused to inform users of cheaper methods to access the apps.
Apple has denied the allegations but accused Spotify at the time of using "its financial motivations in misleading rhetoric".
Further problems for Apple come after South Korean regulators launched a probe into Hyundai over alleged insider trading with Apple over autonomous electric vehicles.
A further lawsuit at a US District Court in Texas involved several copyright violations of tech firm Qualcomm's 5G wireless transceiver patents, reports revealed in April. Despite strong sales, the US tech firm has also been affected by the ongoing global semiconductor crisis, which has hit production for iPad and MacBooks, it was reported in April.
