Brussels (Europe Brief News): The European Union fined Apple and Meta hundreds of millions of euros for their breach of digital competition regulations. Both tech companies have issued complaints regarding penalties.
The European Union’s executive body, The European Commission announced fines of 500 million euros ($571 million) for Apple and 200 million euros ($228.4 million) for Meta for violations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Why did the EU fine Meta?
The EU Commission determined that Meta unlawfully compelled users to agree to share their data with the company or to pay for a service without ads. This decision arises in reaction to Meta’s rollout of a paid subscription version for Facebook and Instagram in November 2023.
In November 2023, the company implemented a “consent or pay” advertising strategy, which required European Facebook and Instagram users to either agree to “personal data combination” for tailored advertising or pay for versions of the platforms without ads.
A year later, Meta launched another free personalized advertising option, which it claims utilizes “less personal data,” as noted by the European Commission, which is currently evaluating whether this new model complies with its regulations.
What was Meta’s response to the EU fine?
Meta’s chief officer for global affairs, Joel Kaplan stated that the Commission was “trying to hinder successful American companies while permitting Chinese and European firms to function under different criteria.”
“This isn’t merely about a penalty; the Commission’s requirement for us to alter our business structure effectively places a multi-billion-dollar tax on Meta and compels us to provide a lower-quality service,” he said.
Kaplan stated that the European Commission is also damaging European businesses and economies by unjustly limiting personalized advertising.”
Why did the EU fine Apple?
The European Commission stated that Apple did not adhere to designated “anti-steering” requirements set forth by the DMA. According to EU technology legislation, Apple must enable developers to openly inform users of alternative options outside its App Store.
Officials indicated that Apple did not adhere to designated “anti-steering” obligations mandated by the DMA. According to this EU technology legislation, Apple must enable developers to openly inform users of alternative options outside its App Store.
The European Commission stated that “due to several limitations set by the US tech giant, consumers are unable to fully take advantage of alternative and more affordable options.”
What was Apple’s response to the EU fine?
In response, Apple announced its intention to appeal the EU penalty while maintaining its dialogues with the Commission.
Apple said that “Today’s announcements exemplify the European Commission unfairly targeting Apple through a series of rulings that compromise both the privacy and security of our users, bad for products, and force us to give away our technology for free.”
“We have dedicated significant engineering resources and made numerous adjustments to comply with this law, none of which our users requested. Despite many meetings, the Commission consistently alters the criteria we need to meet,” the company continued.
Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty stated that, The DMA aims to guarantee “that citizens maintain complete authority over when and in what manner their data is utilized online, while businesses can communicate freely with their customers.”
Virkkunen said that “The resolutions made today conclude that both Apple and Meta have removed this freedom of choice from their users and must alter their actions.”
