EU fines Apple and Meta with $700 million in antitrust fines
The European Union (EU) fines American tech giants, Apple and Meta a combined €700 million ($797 million) in the first enforcement of its landmark digital competition law.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said on Wednesday that it has fined Apple (AAPL) and Facebook owner Meta (META) €500 million ($570 million) and €200 million ($228 million) respectively.
The penalties for breaching the Digital Markets Act come amid criticism from the Trump administration on the EU for its unfair targeting of American companies.
Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, criticized the EU’s decision, accusing it of attempting to handicap successful American businesses.
“This isn’t just about a fine; the Commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multibillion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” Kaplan added.
Apple and META violations
During a year-long investigation, the European Commission found that, for a period last year, Meta had not given users the ability to use versions of its platforms that process less of their personal data without paying a fee.
In November 2023, META adopted a consent or pay advertising model, which forced its European users of Facebook and Instagram to either consent to personal data combination for personalized advertising or pay for ad-free versions of the platforms.
A year later, Meta introduced another new free personalized advertising model, which it says processes less personal data, the European Commission said it is currently assessing whether the new model is compliant with its rules.
The commission also found that Apple had broken the so-called steering rule in the DMA. Under the rule, app developers distributing their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the store, steer them to those and allow them to make purchases. But due to a number of restrictions imposed by the US tech giant, consumers cannot fully benefit from alternative and cheaper offers, the European Commission said in a statement.
A representative for Apple said the fine is yet another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting the company and forcing it to give away its technology for free. It added that it plans to appeal the decision.
“We have spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made dozens of changes to comply with this law, none of which our users have asked for. Despite countless meetings, the Commission continues to move the goal posts every step of the way,” the representative said.
Europe and American Companies
The fines may fuel further accusations by President Donald Trump that Europe is unfairly penalizing American companies. Last month, the president said the EU was “formed to screw the United States” when announcing a new round of tariffs.
Trump unveiled a 20% tariff on goods imported from the EU, though he has since postponed its implementation until July, as he has also done with new import taxes on many of America’s other trading partners (except China).
