London — On Wednesday, European regulators imposed hefty fines on Apple and Meta, totaling hundreds of millions of euros as they intensified enforcement of the EU’s digital competition regulations. The European Commission imposed a fine of 500 million euros (approximately $571 million) on Apple for obstructing app developers from guiding users to less expensive alternatives outside its App Store. Additionally, Meta Platforms received a 200 million euro ($228 million) penalty for compelling Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them.
These fines were relatively minor compared to the massive multibillion-euro penalties that the Commission has imposed on major tech firms in prior antitrust cases.
Apple and Meta have 60 days to comply with the ruling, or they may face unspecified “periodic penalty payments,” according to the Commission.
Although these penalties were anticipated in March, officials chose to delay them amid the escalating trade tensions with President Trump, who has frequently criticized European regulations affecting American firms.
The sanctions were enacted under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, known as the DMA. This comprehensive framework aims to give consumers and businesses more options and prevent large tech “gatekeepers” from dominating digital markets.
The DMA is designed to ensure that “citizens maintain complete control over how and when their data is utilized online, while businesses can communicate freely with their own clientele,” stated Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s executive vice-president for technology sovereignty.
“Today’s decisions conclude that both Apple and Meta have stripped their users of this freedom of choice and must alter their practices,” Virkkunen remarked.
Both companies expressed intentions to appeal.
“The European Commission is trying to restrain successful American companies while allowing Chinese and European firms to operate under more lenient conditions,” remarked Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, in a statement from the tech giant. “This isn’t merely about a fine; the Commission’s demands for us to change our business model effectively creates a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while forcing us to deliver a subpar service. Moreover, by unfairly limiting personalized advertising, the European Commission is damaging European businesses and economies.”
Apple accused the Commission of “unjustly targeting” the iPhone manufacturer and claimed it “continually shifts the standards” despite the company’s compliance efforts.
In the App Store case, the Commission charged Apple with imposing unfair rules that hinder app developers from directing consumers to alternate purchasing avenues.
Among the DMA’s requirements are mandates allowing developers to inform customers of less expensive purchasing options and direct them accordingly.
The Commission instructed Apple to eliminate technical and commercial barriers that restrict developers from directing users to alternative channels and to cease any “non-compliant” behavior.
Apple stated it has “invested hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made several changes to comply with this regulation, none of which users have requested.”
“Despite multiple meetings, the Commission continues to alter the benchmarks at each turn,” the company asserted.
Apple is also facing a widespread antitrust lawsuit in the United States, with the Justice Department alleging that the California company has engaged in anti-competitive conduct to “create a barrier around its smartphone monopoly” and maximize profits at consumers’ expense. The lawsuit includes involvement from fifteen states and the District of Columbia as plaintiffs.
The EU’s investigation into Meta focused on the company’s compliance strategy with strict European data privacy laws, which offered users the option to pay for ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram.
Users were presented with the choice to pay at least 10 euros ($11) monthly to avoid being targeted by ads based on their personal data. This option was introduced after the EU’s top court mandated that Meta must secure user consent before displaying ads, challenging its business model aimed at individualized advertising.
Regulators raised concerns about Meta’s strategy, claiming it doesn’t permit users to freely consent to the integration of their personal data across its services—including Facebook Marketplace, WhatsApp, and Messenger—for the purpose of personalized ads.
Meta launched a third option in November, allowing Facebook and Instagram users in Europe to view fewer personalized ads if they choose not to pay for an ad-free subscription. The Commission stated that it is “currently evaluating” this new option and is in continued discussions with Meta, requesting the company to provide evidence of the impact of this revised option.
The European Commission has also previously issued antitrust fines to Google multiple times, including a record $5 billion penalty in 2018 for the search engine’s misuse of its Android mobile operating system’s market dominance.
