EU Commission hits Apple and Meta with fines totalling €700 million

The European Commission on Wednesday imposed fines on Apple and Meta totalling €700 million ($796.7 million), accusing them of violating EU legislation on digital markets.

Apple was ordered to pay €500 million, while Meta received a €200 million penalty. The fines can still be contested in court.

The companies are alleged to have violated the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) which regulates large online platforms operating in the bloc.

Wednesday's fines are the first non-compliance decisions under the DMA which entered into force in 2022.

The penalties could have an impact on the current tensions between the United States and the EU, particularly over trade.

The Republican leadership in Washington sees fines imposed by Brussels on big US businesses as a form of taxation.

The commission, the EU's executive arm, argues that proceedings against US companies are not related to geopolitical tensions, and that they are "firm but balanced."

"Apple and Meta have fallen short of compliance with the DMA by implementing measures that reinforce the dependence of business users and consumers on their platforms," EU Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera said.

Apple is accused by Brussels of having restricted app developers in marketing their products outside Apple's own app store and failing "to demonstrate that these restrictions are objectively necessary andproportionate," a commission press release said.

Apple announced it would appeal against the fine.

"Today's announcements are yet another example of the European Commission 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 said.

Meta's fine is linked to its so-called pay-or-consent model in place between March and November 2024, under which Facebook and Instagram users in the EU had to choose between a monthly subscription for an ad-free version and a free version with personalized advertising.

This model violated the DMA "as it did not give users the required specific choice to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the 'personalised ads' service," the commission said.

Meta likened the fine to tariffs.

"The Commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service," said Joel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer.

"The European Commission is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards," he claimed.

The commission is also harming EU businesses and economies by restricting personalized advertising, Kaplan said.

Apple and Meta were ordered to comply with the DMA within 60 days, otherwise they risk periodic penalty payments, the commission said.

The penalties could in theory have been higher: the EU law provides for the possibility of imposing fines of up to 10% of annual global turnover. For repeat offenders, this rate can rise to 20%.

Last year, Apple reported a turnover of just under $400 billion while Meta stated a turnover of around $165 billion.