Group Action Against Apple for Expensive Music Streaming

The European consumer organization Euroconsumers, where Testaankoop is part of, has initiated a group action against Apple. According to the complaint, the American tech giant has been abusing its power for years, forcing over half a million consumers to pay too much for their subscription to a music streaming service. They are entitled to an average compensation of 122 euros, says Testaankoop.

“Apple has been misusing its control over the App Store for years by imposing a commission (up to 30 percent of the price) on subscriptions to streaming services such as Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, Tidal, and Qobuz,” states Testaankoop. “As a result, it gave its own music streaming platform, Apple Music, a huge advantage because the higher price was ultimately passed on to users.”

“55,000 Deceived Belgians”

Furthermore, as stated in the complaint, Apple prohibited its competitors from informing consumers that subscriptions could be cheaper via their own websites, as no commission was charged there. The consumer protection organizations believe that this disrupted market balance. The European Commission also agreed with this view and fined Apple over 1.8 billion euros for abusing its power on the music streaming service market in March. Apple appealed the decision.

The group action in Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain aims to ensure that consumers who paid too much get compensation. Testaankoop speaks of about half a million victims, including around 55,000 Belgians.

The amount of compensation depends on the streaming platform and how long the subscription has been running, but Testaankoop claims they were charged roughly 3 euros per month more than necessary. An example: someone who took out a Spotify subscription through the App Store in June 2014, which is still active today, would be entitled to 201 euros. A calculation module is available on the Testaankoop website.