The US tech giant has been accused of abusing its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps

這家美國科技巨頭被指控濫用其在音樂流媒體應(yīng)用發(fā)行市場的主導(dǎo)地位
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The EU announced on Monday it has fined tech giant Apple €1.84 billion ($2 billion) for breaking the bloc’s competition laws. This is the company’s first ever EU antitrust penalty.

歐盟周一宣布,因違反歐盟競爭法,對科技巨頭蘋果公司處以18.4億歐元(合20億美元)的罰款。這是該公司首次受到歐盟反壟斷處罰。

According to the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, the company prevented rival music streaming services such as Spotify from telling iPhone users that they could find cheaper ways to subscribe outside of Apple’s app store.

歐盟執(zhí)行機(jī)構(gòu)歐盟委員會(European Commission)表示,蘋果阻止了Spotify等競爭對手的音樂流媒體服務(wù)告訴iPhone用戶,他們可以在蘋果應(yīng)用商店之外找到更便宜的訂閱方式。

Apple has “abused its dominant position” as a distributor of music streaming apps, the EU’s competition and digital chief Margrethe Vestager said, adding that European consumers did not have “a free choice as to where, how and at what prices to buy music streaming subscxtions.”

歐盟負(fù)責(zé)競爭和數(shù)字事務(wù)的主管瑪格麗特·維斯塔格(Margrethe Vestager)表示,蘋果“濫用了其作為流媒體音樂應(yīng)用分銷商的主導(dǎo)地位”,并補(bǔ)充說,歐洲消費者沒有“自由選擇在哪里、如何以及以什么價格購買流媒體音樂訂閱”。

“This is illegal and it has impacted millions of European consumers,” Vestager stated during a press conference.

維斯塔格在新聞發(fā)布會上表示:“這是非法的,它影響了數(shù)百萬歐洲消費者?!?/b>

Apple has disputed the accusations, warning it would challenge the decision, which was “reached despite the Commission’s failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm” in court. The EC’s decision “ignores the realities of a market that is thriving, competitive, and growing fast,” the company said in a statement.

蘋果公司對這些指控提出了異議,并警告說,它將對這一裁決提出質(zhì)疑,該裁決是“在歐盟委員會未能發(fā)現(xiàn)任何損害消費者利益的可信證據(jù)的情況下”在法庭上做出的。該公司在一份聲明中表示,歐盟委員會的決定“忽視了一個蓬勃發(fā)展、競爭激烈、增長迅速的市場的現(xiàn)實”。

“The primary advocate for this decision – and the biggest beneficiary – is Spotify, a company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Spotify has the largest music streaming app in the world, and has met with the European Commission more than 65 times during this investigation,” Apple claimed.

這一決定的主要倡導(dǎo)者——也是最大的受益者——是位于瑞典斯德哥爾摩的Spotify公司。Spotify擁有世界上最大的音樂流媒體應(yīng)用程序,在調(diào)查期間與歐盟委員會會面超過65次,”蘋果聲稱。

The EC opened a formal antitrust investigation into Apple in 2020 after Spotify lodged a complaint against the US company the previous year, accusing it of unfairly disadvantaging its competitors. The Swedish firm on Monday cheered the EC’s ruling, calling it “an important moment in the fight for a more open internet for consumers.”

歐盟委員會于2020年對蘋果展開了正式的反壟斷調(diào)查,此前一年Spotify對蘋果提起訴訟,指控其不公平地使競爭對手處于不利地位。這家瑞典公司周一對歐盟委員會的裁決表示歡迎,稱這是“為消費者爭取更開放的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的重要時刻”。

Apple’s policies have also drawn the attention of antitrust regulators. Last month, the company said it would allow EU customers to download apps without going through its own app store, a response to the bloc’s Digital Markets Act.

蘋果的政策也引起了反壟斷監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)的注意。上個月,該公司表示,作為對歐盟《數(shù)字市場法案》(Digital Markets Act)的回應(yīng),它將允許歐盟客戶無需通過自己的應(yīng)用商店即可下載應(yīng)用程序。