Fine Line

EU Commission levies $700 million penalty on Apple, Meta

Two of the world's largest tech companies just got hit with a major fine.

The European Commission found April 22 that Apple "breached its anti-steering obligation under the Digital Markets Act (DMA)," and that Meta "breached the DMA obligation to give consumers the choice of a service that uses less of their personal data." Therefore, the Commission has fined Apple and Meta with €500 million and €200 million respectively, equaling roughly $700 million U.S. dollars, per a press release from the Commission.

The two decisions come after "extensive dialogue with the companies concerned allowing them to present in detail their views and arguments," the European Commission said.

Apple and Meta are required to comply with the Commission's decisions within 60 days, otherwise they risk periodic penalty payments.

Apple: Under the DMA, app developers distributing their apps via Apple's App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases. The Commission found that Apple fails to comply with this obligation.

Meta: Under the DMA, gatekeepers must seek users' consent for combining their personal data between services. Those users who do not consent must have access to a less personalised but equivalent alternative. In November 2023, Meta introduced a binary ‘Consent or Pay' advertising model. Under this model, EU users of Facebook and Instagram had a choice between consenting to personal data combination for personalised advertising or paying a monthly subscription for an ad-free service. The Commission found that this model is not compliant with the DMA, as it did not give users the required specific choice to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the ‘personalised ads' service.

The Commission continues its engagement with Apple and Meta to ensure compliance with the Commission's decisions and the DMA more generally.