What happened
In a generally gloomy environment for tech stocks, Apple (AAPL 0.64%) on Monday suffered its latest price drop. The company's shares lost 1.6% of their value, eclipsing the 0.9% slide of the S&P 500 on the day, due to that anti-tech sentiment, plus the latest legal hit over the way it manages its mobile software marketplace.
So what
In advance of major legislative changes in the European Union (EU), a French court slapped Apple with a fine of just over 1 million euros ($1.06 million) over the company's App Store. The Paris Commercial Court found that the U.S. tech giant imposed clauses on French app developers that effectively constituted abuse under that country's law.
The court only levied a fine; it did not mandate that any remedies be taken by Apple. It noted that upcoming modifications to the EU's Digital Markets Act would basically force compliance from the company.
Apple has weathered much controversy over the way it runs the App Store. It charges a standard 30% fee for all commerce transacted through the channel, which is the only official marketplace through which Apple device users can download apps. More than a few developers, regulators, and consumers have complained that this is a monopolistic practice imposing an unfair burden on the company's counterparties.
Now what
A fine of barely over $1 million is chump change for Apple -- in its last fiscal year, for example, the company brought in over $394 billion in revenue and netted a profit just shy of $100 billion. Regardless, it's a sign that it is approaching the end of the road with its sweet App Store arrangement (at least in the core of Europe).
At least it isn't fighting the inevitable; recent media reports suggest that the company is preparing for those changes about to hit the EU rather than gearing up to contest them.
