EU Imposes Major Fines on Apple, Meta
(MENAFN) The European Union has imposed substantial financial penalties on U.S. tech leaders Apple and Meta, marking its first enforcement of the newly implemented Digital Markets Act (DMA).
This significant regulatory step underscores the EU’s increasingly aggressive approach toward limiting the influence of dominant technology firms in the digital space.
Apple was ordered to pay €500 million ($570 million) for obstructing app developers from directing consumers to more affordable payment methods outside its App Store framework.
Meta was fined €200 million (approximately $226 million) for obliging Facebook and Instagram users to either accept personalized advertisements or pay to avoid them—a practice EU officials classified as manipulative and undermining user autonomy.
The DMA, which took effect earlier this year, is designed to enhance competition and consumer freedom by restraining the control of major digital “gatekeepers.”
Although the penalties were originally anticipated in March, they were reportedly postponed amid growing trade frictions between the EU and the United States during President Donald Trump's tenure.
Nevertheless, EU authorities have moved forward decisively, reaffirming their determination to enforce digital policy.
Apple pushed back against the ruling, saying the EU was “unfairly targeting” the company.
"We have spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made dozens of changes to comply with this law," the iPhone maker said in a statement.
Meta also voiced its objections, with Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan alleging that the EU is "attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards."
These sanctions are expected to further strain transatlantic relations, as regulators continue to wrestle with how best to curb the influence of global tech giants.
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