Apple Reportedly Plans Fix For App Store Woes With EU Ultimatum Looming

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is reportedly planning to introduce further concessions to its App Store policies to avoid escalating regulatory action from the European Union, following a hefty antitrust fine earlier this year.

A Bloomberg report said that the tech giant is expected to submit a revised proposal to the European Commission by June 26, which would make it easier for app developers to guide users toward external purchasing platforms, thereby bypassing Apple’s in-app payment system. 

Apple stock inched higher by 0.8% in Wednesday morning trade.

This move comes in response to a €500 million ($580 million) penalty issued in April for non-compliance with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The Commission also instructed the company to end specific practices, including those that restrict app developers from telling users about alternative payment methods outside the App Store.

Enacted in 2022, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is designed to level the competitive landscape for smaller digital firms. Non-compliance may result in fines reaching as much as 10% of a company’s total worldwide turnover.

Previously, the EU granted Apple a two-month deadline to make policy changes following the imposed fine. If it fails to comply by June 26, the company could face additional daily penalties of up to 5% of its global revenue.

According to the report, sources with knowledge of the situation said that intense discussions in recent weeks prompted Apple to put forward the revised proposal.

Apple’s newest move to align with the Digital Markets Act comes after a series of disputes with EU regulators. In 2024, the firm was fined €1.8 billion for allegedly unfair treatment of music-streaming competitors on its platform.

Meta Platforms Inc.(META) was also penalized €200 million in April for its “pay or consent” model tied to Facebook and Instagram, underscoring the EU’s aggressive stance on enforcing digital fairness across major tech firms. 

Beyond Apple and Meta, the EU has also fined Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) over $8 billion in recent years and ordered Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) to modify certain aspects of their core services. 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Apple changed to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ territory the previous day.

Apple stock has lost over 19% year-to-date and over 3% in the last 12 months.

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