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European Commission Imposes Nearly $800 Million in Fines on Apple and Meta for Rule Violations

April 23, 2025 TruthUSA

The fines could potentially lead to increased tensions between the Trump administration and European counterparts.

The European Commission has fined Apple and Meta 500 million euros ($570 million) and 200 million euros ($228 million), respectively, after determining that both companies limited customer choices, the executive body announced on April 22.

Both companies were found to have breached the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which ensures that major “gatekeeper” platforms operate fairly and allow space for competitors.

Apple was found to have violated anti-steering obligations under the DMA. This provision mandates that developers distributing their apps through Apple’s App Store can “inform customers, free of charge, about alternative offers outside the App Store, guide them to those offers, and allow them to make purchases.”

The commission stated that the company failed to comply with this obligation, imposing various restrictions on developers that prevented them from fully utilizing distribution channels other than the App Store.

As a result, users were unable to benefit from alternative or cheaper offers since the company prevented developers from informing customers about such offers, the commission noted.

“The company has failed to demonstrate that these restrictions are objectively necessary and proportionate,” the commission said in a statement. Apple was instructed to eliminate any commercial or technical restrictions on steering.

Regarding Meta, the fines from the EU are related to the company’s “consent or pay” advertising model.

In November 2023, Meta introduced this ad model, where EU users of Instagram and Facebook had to either provide consent for Meta to use their private data for personalized advertising or pay a monthly subscription for an ad-free service.

This model was deemed “non-compliant with the DMA” by the commission.

According to the DMA, gatekeeper platforms must offer a “less personalized but equivalent alternative” to users who do not consent to the use of their personal data.

Meta’s consent or pay model did not present users with the necessary specific choice to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise similar to the ‘personalized ads’ service, the commission stated.

The ruling applied only to Meta’s conduct in the EU until November 2024. The company introduced another version of its ad model that month, which is currently under assessment by the commission.

The fines imposed on both Meta and Apple take into consideration “the seriousness and duration of the non-compliance,” the European Commission noted.

These latest “decisions made against Apple and Meta are the first non-compliance decisions adopted under the DMA,” it further added.

Both companies must adhere to the commission’s decisions within 60 days; failing to do so may result in them facing “periodic penalty payments.”

A spokesperson from Meta informed The Epoch Times via email that “the European Commission is seeking to disadvantage successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards.”

“This is not just about a fine; the Commission’s mandate for us to alter our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta and requires us to provide an inferior service,” the spokesperson elaborated.

“Additionally, by unfairly limiting personalized advertising, the European Commission is also negatively impacting European businesses and economies.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Apple for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

US–EU Tech Conflict

The fines come amid trade tensions between the United States and the EU. The Trump administration has imposed various tariffs on the EU, including 25 percent charges on aluminum, steel, and cars, as well as reciprocal tariffs of 20 percent. The reciprocal tariffs are currently on pause.

The administration is concerned that foreign governments could target U.S. tech companies. On Feb. 21, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to protect American companies from what he termed “overseas extortion,” as per a White House fact sheet.

“Regulations that dictate how American companies interact with consumers in the European Union, like the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, will face scrutiny from the Administration,” the fact sheet highlights.

It further states that foreign governments imposing digital services taxes, levying fines, or enforcing specific policies and practices on U.S. companies could prompt “responsive actions like tariffs.”

Earlier this month, Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser to Trump, accused the EU of engaging in lawfare against American tech companies, referring to the use of legal actions to cause problems.

The EU has stated that it does not intend to make concessions on its digital and technology rules in trade negotiations with the United States. American tech companies, such as Meta and Google, could also face taxes on their digital ad revenues in the EU.

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