The new App Store modifications by Apple are a “new low,” according to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek.

The number of high-ranking Apple employees dissatisfied with the company’s new app distribution procedures continues to rise.

In Friday’s X post, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said that Apple’s alterations constitute a “new low, even for them.” In a statement, Spotify criticized Apple for behaving as if “they don’t think the rules apply to them.” Later, this development occurred.

In its announcement for iOS 17.4, Apple said that, for the first time, developers will be able to build and distribute apps on third-party markets. These modifications will only be implemented within the European Union. Apple was compelled to comply with the Digital Markets Act, a law passed by the European Union to limit the dominance of tech companies in the digital economy.

Although this seems like good news for app developers, since it would increase distribution channels, many are upset that Apple will keep control of which third-party marketplaces are integrated into its system and will also charge for downloads on those other marketplaces.

The way Apple has responded to the Digital Markets Act, according to Ek, is “a masterclass in distortion.”

The new rules put forth by Apple state that applications with more than one million downloads will be subject to a “core technology fee” for “each first annual install per year.” Ek claimed that Spotify has over 100 million downloads in the EU. This puts the company in an “untenable situation” as it greatly raises the cost of client acquisition.

According to Spotify’s statement, the price is “extortion, plain and simple.” According to the business, developers, aspiring startups, and individuals providing free apps may not have the capital to pay Apple, which might be disastrous for them if their software has an unexpected surge in popularity.

Even a multibillion-dollar firm like Spotify will have to “stick with the status quo” if they want to stay profitable, according to Ek.

In a statement, Apple expressed its desire to back developers, mentioning Spotify — the “most successful” music streaming service in the world — among them.

According to an email from an Apple representative sent to Business Insider, the company is offering developers more options for distributing iOS apps and processing payments with the modifications they are sharing for apps in the EU. “Any developer is free to continue using the current conditions if they so want. Furthermore, under the revised conditions, over ninety-nine percent of developers would pay Apple the same amount or less.

Regulators feel Apple’s practices hinder innovation and new entrants, despite the fact that its stranglehold on the iOS environment has helped it earn billions in sales. The critic Ek has been of Apple’s strategies for quite some time and agrees with the company’s stated goal of becoming an “open and fair platform.”

The update to the App Store by Apple does not live up to that standard and “mocks the spirit of the law and the lawmakers who wrote it,” as Ek put it.

The good news is that the EU still has to approve Apple’s new adjustments before they take effect. Additionally, Ek expressed his hope that the EU “recognizes this for exactly what it is, stands firm, and doesn’t let their work over the years all be for nothing.”