Yesterday, the European Commission fined Apple 500 million euros and Meta 200 million euros for violating EU regulations. This marks the first enforcement of the Digital Markets Act, which came into effect in 2024 and established operational guidelines for technology firms in the European market.
Apple was penalized for noncompliance with app store regulations. At the same time, Meta was fined for its advertising model, which mandates EU users pay for ad-free access to Facebook and Instagram. These fines are the culmination of extensive investigations into the practices of these American tech companies.
Additionally, Apple has received a cease-and-desist order mandating product modifications by late June, with the possibility of further fines for continued noncompliance. The Commission is also reviewing Meta’s recent adjustments to align with the new regulations.
These procedural fines are less severe than the substantial penalties imposed last year under antitrust laws, which totaled 1.8 billion for Apple and 797 million euros for Meta.
A high-ranking official from the European Union stated that in assessing the penalties, the Commission was aware that these are the inaugural fines imposed under the Digital Markets Act, and that for Meta, the violation ceased in November, just a few months after the Commission expressed its concern.
Together with the noncompliance determinations, both Meta and Apple also obtained favourable decisions. The European Commission concluded its investigation into Apple’s adherence to the Digital Markets Act regulations regarding browsers and default applications, following modifications enabling competitors such as Mozilla to establish a presence on iOS devices.
The Commission determined that Meta’s online intermediation service, Facebook Marketplace, should no longer be classified under the DMA. This decision comes in response to a request made by Meta on 5 March 2024, seeking a reassessment of Marketplace’s designation.
After a thorough evaluation of Meta’s arguments and considering the company’s enhanced enforcement and ongoing monitoring efforts to mitigate Marketplace’s business-to-consumer usage, the Commission concluded that Marketplace had fewer than 10,000 business users in 2024. Consequently, Meta no longer satisfies the threshold that suggests Marketplace serves as a significant gateway for business users to connect with end users.
