The European Union has fined Apple and Meta under its Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Apple received a fine of 500 million euros, while Meta was fined 200 million euros.
Apple said it would fight the decision, claiming that the EU is being unfair.
In a major move, the European Union has fined Apple and Meta under its Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple received a fine of 500 million euros (around $570 million), while Meta was fined 200 million euros. These are the first major penalties under the DMA, a law designed to ensure fair competition in digital markets.
The European Commission, which enforces EU laws, found that both companies had broken the rules meant to give smaller rivals a fair chance to compete. The decision follows a year-long investigation into whether Apple and Meta were sticking to the new rules, which came into effect in 2023.
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Apple said it would fight the decision, claiming that the EU is being unfair, reports Reuters. “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,” Apple was quoted as saying in the report.
Meta also pushed back the EU decision. “The European Commission is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards,” Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, said.
The EU found that Apple was stopping app developers from directing users to better deals outside the App Store. Meanwhile, Meta has got into trouble for its pay-or-consent model on Facebook and Instagram. Introduced in November 2023, the model offered users a choice: agree to be tracked for ads, or pay to use the platforms without ads. The EU said this system broke the rules until November 2024.
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Both companies now have two months to fix these issues or face daily fines.
Despite the penalties, the fines are smaller than those issued by previous EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager, according to the report. Other tech giants like Google and Elon Musk’s X could also face action soon.
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Ayushi Jain
Tech news writer by day, BGMI player by night. Combining my passion for tech and gaming to bring you the latest in both worlds. View Full Profile
