Kelvin Chan, Associated Press business writer
LONDON (AP) – The European Union’s Watchdog fined Apple and hundreds of millions of euros on Wednesday for strengthening enforcement of digital competition rules for blocs of 27 countries.
The European Commission has fined Apple 500 million euros ($571 million) to prevent app makers from pointing out users at cheaper options outside the app store.
The EU’s executive arm, the committee, has fined the meta platform 200 million euros for forcing Facebook and Instagram users to choose to see personalized ads or pay to avoid them.
The punishment was less than the blockbuster euro fines the committee had previously slapped major tech companies in antitrust cases.
Apple and Meta must either comply with the decision within 60 days or risk unspecified “regular penalty payments,” the committee said.
The decision was expected to take place in March, but the voluntary deadline slipped amid the escalation of the transatlantic trade war with President Donald Trump, who repeatedly complained about restrictions from Brussels that affect American businesses.
The penalty was first issued under the EU’s digital market law, also known as the DMA. This is a cleaning rules book, equivalent to a set of dos and dos designed to give consumers and businesses more choice and prevent major technology “gatekeepers” from cornering the digital market.
The DMA “she is trying to ensure that citizens have full control over when and how data is used online and that businesses can communicate freely with their customers,” Henna Wilkunen, the committee’s vice president of technical sovereignty, said in a statement.
“The decision adopted today has discovered that both Apple and Meta are robbing users of this free choice and is necessary to change their behavior,” Virkkunen said.
The companies indicated they would appeal.
Apple accused the committee of “unfairly targeting” iPhone makers, saying it is “continuing to move the goalpost” despite the company’s efforts to comply with the rules.
“The committee is trying to handicapate successful American companies while also ensuring that Chinese and European companies can operate to a variety of standards,” Joel Caplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, said in a statement.
At a press conference in Brussels, a committee spokesman tried to curb concerns that the penalties would undermine trade tensions.
“We don’t care who owns the company, we don’t care where the company is,” committee spokesman Thomas Leisure told reporters. “We are completely agnostic in that respect.”
“And whether it’s a Chinese company, an American company or a European company, you’ll have to play according to the rules of the European Union.”
In the App Store case, the committee accused iPhone makers of impose unfair rules that prevent app developers from steering consumers freely into other channels.
The DMA regulations have requirements for developers to notify customers of cheaper purchase options and direct them to those offers.
The committee said it ordered Apple to remove technical and commercial restrictions that prevent developers from piloting users to other channels and to terminate “non-integrated” actions.
“We spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made dozens of changes to comply with the law, but users have not requested it.”
“Despite countless meetings, the committee continues to move the goal posts at every stage,” the company said.
The EU meta-study centers around the company’s strategy of complying with strict European data privacy rules by providing users with the option to pay for ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram.
Users can pay $11.40 a month to avoid targeting advertisements based on personal data. The US tech giant rolled out its options after the top European Union courts determined that they must first obtain consent before displaying an ad to users.
Regulators said they have had issues with Meta’s model and will not allow users to exercise their right to allow personal data from a variety of services, including Facebook Marketplace, WhatsApp and Messenger, to be combined for personalized advertising.
Meta rolled out its third option in November and chose to see fewer personalized ads if Facebook and Instagram users don’t want European users to pay for an ad-free subscription. The committee is “currently assessing” the option and is continuing consultations with Meta, asking the company to provide evidence of the impact of the new option.
“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.”
The EU has already approved Apple under the DMA, but the fines were irrelevant. Bloc took action earlier this year, forcing the company to open an iPhone and iPad operating system by outlining the steps needed to work better with competing technologies.
Original issue: April 23, 2025 7:39am EDT
