The fine, announced by the European Commission (EC) on March 4, accused Apple of abusing its dominant position in the market. Since then, the tech giant has restricted the developer of the music streaming app Spotify from informing users about payment options outside the App Store, an action considered illegal under European regulations.

In addition to the $2 billion, Apple also had to pay an additional fine of nearly $45 million under the region's antitrust laws. The total penalty is many times higher than the $550 million that analysts had previously predicted.

The EC's decision follows a complaint in 2019 by Swedish music streaming service Spotify over Apple's 30% App Store fee and the fact that the app store blocks users from accessing alternative forms of payment.

“Millions of music streaming service users in Europe are unaware of the other options available,” said Margarethe Vestager, the European Competition Commissioner, Reuters reported. She added that this was the first time the EC had imposed such a deterrent fine to deter similar behavior.

The EC’s conclusion highlighted that Apple’s conduct, which spanned nearly a decade, had forced many iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions, due to the high commissions Apple charged developers, which forced them to charge consumers more.

Apple has strongly objected to the EC’s ruling, saying that Spotify and other music streaming services are thriving in Europe, in part thanks to the push from the App Store.

"The ruling came despite the EC finding no credible evidence of harm to consumers. It ignored the fact that this market remains thriving, competitive and growing rapidly," Apple said in a statement.

In addition, the company criticized Spotify's ambition to "rewrite the rules of the App Store in its favor."