BRUSSELS – The European Commission imposed fines on American big tech juggernauts Apple and Meta on Wednesday amid spiralling trade tensions with the US government.
The fines, which totalled €700 million, are the first to be issued under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which sets out rules and obligations for the largest online platforms.
Apple has been fined €500 million over the “steering terms” in its App Store that fail to direct users to offers in other app marketplaces, the Commission said, after it issued a non-compliance finding in March last year.
An Apple representative said the Commission was “unfairly targeting Apple in a series of decisions that are bad for the privacy and security of our users, bad for products, and force us to give away our technology for free.” The company intends to appeal the decision.
Meta has been fined €200 million for its “pay or consent” advertising model for EU users, which it first used on Facebook and Instagram in November 2023.
The Commission issued a non-compliance finding against Meta’s advertising model in March last year, on the grounds that it forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data.
The fine against Meta is an attempt “to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards,” said Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer.
“We don’t care who owns the company. We don’t care where the company is located. We are totally agnostic on that front,” a Commission spokesperson said following the announcement.
Fines under the DMA were determined based on the gravity, recurrence and duration of the breaches, a senior Commission official said. However, there is no guidance on how to calculate a fine under the DMA, they added.
The Commission can impose fines up to ten percent of companies’ global turnover. Apple and Meta reported revenues of €342 billion ($391 billion) and €143 billion ($164 billion) respectively, meaning the fines are far below the maximum possible.
Both Meta and Apple have 60 days to comply with the two decisions or face periodic penalty payments.
US President Donald Trump has previously threatened to retaliate with further tariffs if the EU were to fine US big tech companies.
Faceless fines
Despite being a significant first in the EU’s digital regulatory agenda, the announcement was made via press release, rather than by a European commissioner.
The two who oversee the DMA, Teresa Ribera and Henna Virkkunnen, were both absent during the announcement of the fines. Ribera is on a visit to Mexico, and Virkkunen is visiting an AI factory in Germany.
Regulations that dictate how US companies interact with consumers in the EU would face scrutiny from the US administration, the White House said in February.
Ribera, who is in charge of the bloc’s competition policy, visited Washington DC earlier this month to meet top US officials. She said during an event that she would take bold action under the DMA.
At the same event, however, US Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson slammed the DMA as a form of tax against US tech firms.
Today’s fines have “nothing to do with the tariffs. This is an independent decision, and it’s only focusing on the DMA,” a senior Commission official said.
(om)