EU Fines Apple and Meta a Combined €700 Million for Breaking DMA Rules

The European Commission has fined Apple and Meta €500 million and €200 million, respectively, for not complying with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). After opening its non-compliance investigations in March 2024, the EU regulator determined that Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and Meta’s “pay or consent model” were in breach of the DMA.

If Apple finally allowed alternative app distribution channels on iOS in the EU last year, the EU Commission found out that Apple still doesn’t respect its obligation to allow apps downloaded from the App Store to steer customers to third-party stores. Moreover, the company still doesn’t allow developers to promote cheaper offers outside of the App Store and communicate directly with their customers.

“As part of today’s decision, the Commission has ordered Apple to remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from perpetuating the non-compliant conduct in the future, which includes adopting conduct with an equivalent object or effect. The fine imposed on Apple takes into account the gravity and duration of the non-compliance,” the Commission said today.

In a statement shared with the Wall Street Journal, Apple said that it would appeal a decision it sees as “bad for the privacy and security of our users, bad for products, and force us to give away our technology for free.” It’s not all bad for the iPhone maker, though, as the EU Commission closed its investigation into Apple’s user choice obligations. This came after Apple recently changed its browser choice screen and made it easier for iPhone users to change default apps for calling, messaging, password management, translation services, and more.

As for Meta, the company was fined €200 million for its ‘Consent or Pay’ advertising model that initially didn’t allow Facebook and Instagram users in the EU to refuse targeted advertising without paying for Meta’s ad-free subscription. “The fine imposed on Meta also takes into account the gravity and duration of the non-compliance,” the EU Commission said today

In November, Meta agreed to give EU users a new option to use Facebook and Instagram for free with fewer personalized ads. The EU regulator said that it’s “currently assessing this new option and continues its dialogue with Meta, requesting the company to provide evidence of the impact that this new ads model has in practice.”

In the meantime, Meta also told the WSJ that it would appeal the EU’s decision. “The commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multibillion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” said Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer.

These two decisions taken by the EU Commission against Apple and Meta are the first non-compliance decisions adopted under the DMA. They also come “after extensive dialogue with the companies concerned allowing them to present in detail their views and arguments,” the EU regulator said.

While previous reports suggested that these decisions could be delayed over political concerns, the EU Commission may not stop going after Big Tech companies. Last month, the EU regulator released preliminary findings pointing out that Google is also breaching DMA rules with its steering rules for Google Play and self-preferencing in Google search.