Violations of EU rules: Allegedly only minor penalties for Apple and Meta
The US companies allegedly have to change certain practices in the EU, but will probably escape a heavy fine. This should also appease Trump.
(Image: Koshiro K/Shutterstock.com)
Apple and Meta are facing their first penalties for alleged violations of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA). The competition authorities will order Apple to change certain app store rules and impose what is expected to be a "minimal" fine on the company. This was reported by the Financial Times on Friday, citing people familiar with the decision. Meta will have to adapt its "agree or pay" model and is also expected to pay a fine of a manageable amount.
High penalties for DMA violations on paper
In its investigations last summer, the EU Commission had already provisionally determined that the companies were violating the new rules with their practices. In the case of Apple, this concerns the possibility for app providers and developers to link from the app to a cheaper shopping option on the web, for example. At Meta, the regulators stated that the option to choose between payment or consenting to the use of personal data is not compatible with the DMA.
For violations of the DMA, the EU Commission provides for fines amounting to 10 percent of the global turnover of the companies classified as gatekeepers, and even more in the event of repeated violations. Except for TikTok operator Bytedance, the gatekeepers currently exclusively include US companies, namely Apple, Meta, Amazon Microsoft and Alphabet. A fine of this amount could reach up to a good 36 billion US dollars for Apple.
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New rules shake up Apple's and Meta's business models
With "minimal penalties", Brussels is now trying to strike a balance between enforcing the Digital Markets Act and avoiding a major collision with the Trump administration, writes the business newspaper. Trump has already threatened further punitive tariffs on several occasions. According to the Financial Times, the recently formed EU Commission is also more eager to ensure compliance with the rules than to impose huge penalties.
For Apple and Meta, however, the expected orders threaten fundamental business models that have so far brought in billions, even with low penalties: Apple is ultimately concerned with the lucrative commission on in-app purchases, Meta with targeted advertising targeting.
(lbe)
