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The European Union has hit Apple and Meta with roughly $800 million in fines for violating its Digital Markets Act, marking the first major enforcement action under the landmark law aimed at curbing Big Tech’s dominance in the digital economy.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, the European Union has a long history of targeting major US tech companies like Apple, Meta, Google, and Amazon over antitrust and privacy violations, frequently citing the need to protect user rights and create fair competition in digital markets. In 2017, the EU fined Google a record €2.42 billion for favoring its own shopping comparison service in search results, followed by two more multi-billion euro penalties related to Android and AdSense practices. Meta (then Facebook) has repeatedly clashed with EU regulators over privacy compliance, most notably a €1.2 billion fine in 2023 for transferring user data to the US in violation of privacy safeguards. These actions have fueled accusations from American execs that the EU is unfairly targeting American tech companies. President Trump previously claimed that CEOs of these companies, including Mark Zuckerberg, had privately lobbied him to intervene on their behalf against EU regulatory pressure.
What’s going on now: In an announcement, the European Commission revealed it had imposed a combined $797 million in fines against Apple and Meta — the first such penalties under the bloc’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple was fined $570 million for restricting app developers from informing users about alternative purchasing options outside of its App Store. The Commission found that these “steering” restrictions deprived consumers of access to potentially cheaper options and reinforced Apple’s control over digital transactions.
Meta was slapped with a $228 million fine for violating the DMA’s consent requirements. The company had implemented a “consent-or-pay” model that required users of Facebook and Instagram in Europe to either agree to personalized ad tracking or pay a subscription fee for an ad-free experience. The Commission determined that this model did not allow users to freely consent to data processing, as mandated by the law.
The EU’s executive said that the fines reflect the seriousness and duration of the companies’ violations and warned that both firms must come into full compliance within 60 days or face additional financial penalties. Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera said both companies had “fallen short” of their obligations by maintaining systems that reinforce user dependence and limit freedom of choice. The Commission noted that while Meta has since introduced a less data-intensive alternative for users, it is still evaluating whether this change meets the DMA’s requirements.
Apple & Meta react: Both Apple and Meta pushed back strongly against the penalties. Apple argued that the Commission was unfairly targeting the company despite its extensive efforts to comply with the DMA, including hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and dozens of product changes. The company claimed that none of these changes were requested by users and accused the Commission of “moving the goalposts.”
Meta also criticized the decision, with Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan calling it a de facto “multibillion-dollar tariff” on American companies. Kaplan said the forced changes compromise service quality and that the EU was holding US firms to different standards than their European or Chinese rivals. Both companies have indicated they will appeal the rulings.
