London
CNN
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The European Union has fined Apple and Meta a combined €700 million ($797 million) in the first enforcement of its landmark digital competition law.
The penalties for breaching the Digital Markets Act come amid attacks on the EU by the Trump administration for what it sees as the bloc’s unfair targeting of American companies.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Wednesday that it has fined Apple (AAPL) and Facebook owner Meta (META) €500million ($570 million) and €200 million ($228 million) respectively.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, 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 multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” Kaplan added.
During a year-long investigation, the European Commission found that, for a period of time 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, the company adopted a “consent or pay” advertising model, which forced 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 free personalized advertising model, which it says processes “less personal data,” the European Commission noted, adding that 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.
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.
The size of Apple and Meta’s respective fines reflects the “gravity and duration” of the companies’ breaches of the DMA, the European Commission said, adding that they must pay the fines within 60 days or risk additional financial penalties.
This is a developing story and will be updated. James Frater contributed reporting.
