Italy’s antitrust authority, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), has imposed a €113.35 million fine on Apple for alleged antitrust violations tied to its control of iOS app distribution and in-app payments. Regulators say Apple abused a dominant position by using restrictive App Store rules that limited developers’ ability to tell iPhone users about cheaper offers and alternative payment options outside Apple’s own system. The penalty, equivalent to roughly $115 million, underscores intensifying European scrutiny of how large platforms shape consumer choice and competition in mobile app markets.
Allegations of Antitrust Breaches
The AGCM concluded that Apple holds a dominant position in the iOS mobile operating system and App Store markets and that it used this power to restrict how developers communicate with users about external purchasing options. According to the authority’s decision, Apple’s rules prevented many apps from clearly directing iPhone users to websites or other channels where subscriptions, game currency, or digital content could be bought at lower prices than those available through in-app purchases. The regulator framed these limits on “steering” as an abuse of dominance that distorted competition between Apple’s own payment system and rival payment providers, with direct consequences for what Italian consumers pay and how they discover offers.
Investigators focused on clauses that either banned or heavily constrained links, messages, or buttons inside apps that could guide users toward external payment flows, as well as language that discouraged developers from advertising better deals outside the App Store environment. In its account of the case, Reuters reported that the AGCM viewed these restrictions as unfair commercial practices that harmed both rival payment intermediaries and app makers that rely on thin margins. Complaints from developers, some of whom argued that Apple’s rules effectively walled off iPhone users from competitive offers, prompted the Italian probe that began in 2021 and ran in parallel with broader EU investigations into mobile ecosystems.
Breakdown of the Penalty and Regulatory Actions
The AGCM’s decision sets the fine at €113.35 million, a figure that Italian officials described as proportionate to the gravity and duration of the alleged antitrust infringements. As detailed in coverage of the ruling, the authority linked the amount directly to Apple’s conduct in the App Store, including the way its rules shaped access to iOS users for subscription services, streaming platforms, and gaming apps. The penalty targets what regulators see as a systematic pattern of behavior rather than isolated contractual disputes, signaling that national competition watchdogs are prepared to levy sizable sanctions when they believe platform rules cross the line into exclusionary tactics.
Beyond the monetary fine, the AGCM ordered Apple to cease the contested practices within 90 days and to implement changes that give developers greater freedom to communicate alternative payment methods to users. Reporting on the decision notes that Apple must allow clearer references to external offers and non-App Store billing options, which could include explicit links or messaging about lower prices available on the web. These behavioral remedies are significant for developers that have long argued they are forced into Apple’s commission-based system, and they may serve as a template for other European regulators that are examining similar restrictions under competition law and the EU’s new digital rules.
Apple’s Response and Potential Implications
Apple has rejected the AGCM’s findings and signaled that it will challenge the decision in court. In statements cited by multiple outlets, the company called the Italian ruling “without foundation” and insisted that its App Store policies are designed to protect users rather than to stifle competition. Coverage of the case notes that Apple emphasized its commitment to user privacy and security, arguing that tight control over in-app payments helps prevent fraud, safeguard financial data, and maintain a trusted environment for iPhone owners. The company’s stance sets up a familiar clash between platform governance framed as consumer protection and regulators’ view that the same controls can entrench market power.
Italian officials, however, have linked the fine to a broader pattern of concerns about how large technology companies manage data and commercial relationships on their platforms. One account of the decision notes that the AGCM also scrutinized the privacy dimensions of Apple’s App Store rules, including how restrictions on tracking and data use intersect with competitive dynamics in advertising and payments. Another report highlights that the €113.35 million sanction is part of a wider wave of European enforcement actions targeting Big Tech’s control over app ecosystems, from mobile operating systems to in-app billing. As these cases accumulate, developers and consumers in Italy and across the EU could see more options for how they pay for services on iPhones, while Apple faces the prospect of further fines, mandated design changes, and a patchwork of national rules that test its long-standing App Store business model.
