EU regulators have simply hit Apple with a whopping $2 billion high quality over its App Retailer insurance policies. 

And Apple is looking out the corporate that filed the criticism within the first place: Spotify.

On Monday, Apple launched a reasonably lengthy assertion acknowledging a $2 billion high quality levied towards the iPhone-maker by the European Fee. The huge high quality is the results of an investigation by the EU right into a criticism filed towards Apple’s App Retailer.

The criticism, filed by music streaming service Spotify, centered on Apple’s App Retailer insurance policies that prohibit app builders from pointing customers towards subscription choices exterior of the app in an effort to keep away from Apple’s in-app buy charges. An EU investigation concluded that Apple was partaking in anti-competitive practices and operating afoul of antitrust legal guidelines.

Spotify celebrated the EU’s determination, which Apple mentioned in its assertion that it’ll enchantment.

Nevertheless, Apple took issues even additional. Actually, nearly all of the assertion is spent calling out Spotify.

Here is what Apple mentioned about Spotify.

Apple pulls no punches in its assertion on Spotify.

Titled “The App Retailer, Spotify, and Europe’s thriving digital music market,” Apple spends the majority of its assertion addressing Spotify as an alternative of the EU determination itself.

Apple highlights in its assertion that Spotify pays completely nothing to the iPhone-maker for the Spotify app, which Apple says has been “downloaded, redownloaded, or up to date greater than 119 billion instances on Apple gadgets.”

Taking issues even additional, Apple factors out that though Spotify does not pay the corporate, Apple has labored with Spotify to ensure their app works with “Siri, CarPlay, Apple Watch, AirPlay, Widgets, and extra.” Apple mentions that Spotify makes use of its instruments like TestFlight and Apple’s APIs and that its assessment group “often expedites evaluations” of Spotify app updates within the Apple Retailer “at Spotify’s request.”

Apple additionally appears to not-so-subtly level out that Spotify has some monopolization-related issues of its personal, saying that the music streaming service “has a 56 % share of Europe’s music streaming market — greater than double their closest opponents.”

“Regardless of that success, and the App Retailer’s function in making it attainable, Spotify pays Apple nothing,” Apple says.

“However free isn’t sufficient for Spotify,” Apple continues. “Additionally they need to rewrite the principles of the App Retailer — in a approach that benefits them much more.”

Apple goes on to accuse Spotify of wanting to simply accept funds instantly inside the iOS app, utilizing all of Apple’s instruments with out participating within the income share program that each different developer takes half in. Apple mentions how the corporate affords a “reader rule” coverage which permits builders to offer an internet web page hyperlink within the app that directs customers to account providers, which might embody billing administration and sign-ups. Nevertheless, Apple says that Spotify has not taken benefit of this selection.

“As an alternative, Spotify needs to bend the principles of their favor by embedding subscription costs of their app with out utilizing the App Retailer’s In-App Buy system,” Apple says. “They need to use Apple’s instruments and applied sciences, distribute on the App Retailer, and profit from the belief we have constructed with customers — and to pay Apple nothing for it.”

“Briefly, Spotify needs extra.”

Apple ends the assertion saying it is going to enchantment the EU determination. It will be fascinating to see how the enchantment goes, however much more compelling is what the longer term for Apple and Spotify’s relationship seems to be like.