Apple filed an appeal over the European Union’s $587 million fine on Monday – escalating a showdown over enforcement of a sweeping antitrust law targeting Big Tech firms.
EU antitrust regulators slapped Apple with the first-of-its-kind fine in April after finding CEO Tim Cook’s firm prevented rival app developers from quickly steering customers to services outside its App Store.
“We believe the European Commission’s decision — and their unprecedented fine — go far beyond what the law requires,” Apple said in a statement.
Apple is appealing the EU’s $587 million fine. AFP via Getty Images
“As our appeal will show, the EC is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms which are confusing for developers and bad for users.”
Apple was fined under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which labels a set of Big Tech firms, nearly all of them American, as internet gatekeepers subject to special