European Union fines Apple and Meta for breaching digital competition laws

On April 22, 2025, in the European Union, significant fines were imposed on major tech companies Apple and Meta due to breaches of the bloc's digital competition regulations. The European Commission, which serves as the executive body of the EU, levied a hefty fine of 500 million euros (approximately 571 million USD) on Apple for its non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple was found to have infringed 'anti-steering' obligations that mandate developers to inform users about alternate purchasing options that do not funnel through Apple's App Store. This ruling aims to restore competitive balance in the digital market by ensuring that app developers have transparency and flexibility concerning how they present their offerings to consumers. Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, was also penalized with a 200 million euro (around 228.4 million USD) fine. The EU Commission determined that Meta unlawfully required users to consent to advertising data sharing or pay for an ad-free experience within their platforms. This finding is particularly significant as it follows Meta's recent introduction of a paid subscription service for users who wish to bypass advertisements, highlighting ongoing tensions between user privacy and business models in the digital age. Both fines, while substantial, were less severe compared to previous multibillion-euro penalties which the EU has imposed on tech giants for antitrust violations. The enforcement actions signal the EU's commitment to strictly implement the provisions of the DMA, which aims to empower consumers and promote fair business practices and competition among technology companies. The fines were somewhat expected, as ongoing market scrutiny and regulatory pressures on tech firms have intensified. Apple and Meta expressed their dissatisfaction with the rulings. Apple argued that it has made significant efforts to comply with EU regulations, stating that they have 'spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours' toward this end. Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan criticized the Commission's actions as damaging to American businesses while favoring their European and Chinese counterparts. He highlighted that forcing changes to their business model could impose significant financial burdens on Meta, ultimately affecting European economies by undermining personalized advertising services that many businesses depend on.