The European Union slapped Apple and Meta with a total of €700 million for violating the new digital competition law.
On Wednesday, the European Commission said it had fined Apple 500 million euros ($571 million) to block app developers from notifying users about cheaper alternatives outside the App Store. This so-called “anti-stalling” behavior is prohibited under DMA. It aims to curb the domination of big technology by forcing it to open up important parts of the platform.
Regulators said Apple has imposed technical and commercial restrictions that discourage developers from offering better deals elsewhere. The company is ordered to remove these restrictions and avoid repeating the same actions in the future.
Apple said it would appeal the decision.
“Today’s announcement is another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting Apple in a series of decisions that are bad for users’ privacy and security, products and enforce free technology,” the CNBC report said in a statement.
“We spent hundreds of thousands of engineering time and made dozens of changes to comply with this law, but users haven’t requested it,” Apple added. “Despite countless meetings, the committee continues to move the goal posts at every stage.”
Meta was fined 200 million euros ($228.4 million) for his approach to ad targeting. Regulators forced the company to choose whether users would choose to pay for Facebook and Instagram or accept that their data would be used for personalized ads. The committee said the move violated DMA rules on consent and choice.
Joel Kaplan of Meta, head of Global Affairs, pushed back by claiming that the committee was picking up American companies.
“This isn’t just fines. The committee that forces them to change their business model effectively imposes multi-billion dollar tariffs on the meta, demanding that they provide inferior services,” Kaplan said. “And by unfairly restricting the Commission, the Commission is also hurting European businesses and the economy.”
Meta has since rolled out a new version of its advertising support services that use less personal data. The committee said it was still evaluating the changes and asked Meta whether the new model would actually protect users. The company will comply with suspensions and assumed orders for 60 days and face further penalties.
Fines come at a delicate time due to global technology trade. Earlier this month, former President Donald Trump imposes 20% tariffs on EU goods, calling it a response to what he described as an “overseas terror” targeting US tech companies. The tariff rate was later reduced to 10% for negotiation purposes, but tensions remained high.
These latest penalties make Brussels clear that even if it was placed on a collision course between the US high-tech giants and Washington, it has not retreated from the implementation of the DMA.
The news comes as Apple and Meta face growing scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. Last week, a federal judge found that Google had committed the charge of maintaining an illegal monopoly in the online advertising market, highlighting Big Tech’s wider crackdown.
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