I salute the decision, but I wonder, is the fine big enough? I mean how much money did apple make with this behavior. If even after the fine they are net positive, wouldn't they continue the same way?
This is pretty comparable to a speeding ticket. E.g. if Apple was a person making $100,000 / year, this fine would be roughly equivalent to getting slapped with a $500 speeding ticket. Not a big dent in the total pool of income, but it still stings, and it is a deterrent to know that the next time you get caught speeding the fine will be even higher, and you could even lose your license if it happens too many times.
> In addition, the Commission decided to add to the basic amount of the fine an additional lump sum of €1.8 billion to ensure that the overall fine imposed on Apple is sufficiently deterrent. Such lump sum fine was necessary in this case because a significant part of the harm caused by the infringement consists of non-monetary harm, which cannot be properly accounted for under the revenue-based methodology as set out in the Commission's 2006 Guidelines on Fines.
Repeated offenders will not get off so lightly though.