Apple and Meta were both hit with massive fines on Wednesday, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, for breaching the European Union’s newly established competition regulations aimed at limiting the dominance of Big Tech.
Apple was penalized $570 million by EU antitrust authorities for preventing developers from directing users to less expensive alternatives outside its App Store.
Meanwhile, Meta faced a $230 million fine for coercing users of Facebook and Instagram into choosing between viewing ads or paying to avoid them, according to the European Commission.
These fines are the first to be issued to Big Tech giants under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, a landmark law introduced in 2022.
The penalties came after a lengthy investigation by the European Commission to determine whether the two companies were adhering to the new rules, which are designed to make it easier for smaller competitors to enter markets that are currently dominated by large players.
Apple has already promised to appeal the decision.
“Today’s announcements are yet another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting Apple in a series of decisions that are bad for the privacy and security of our users, bad for products, and force us to give away our technology for free,” said an Apple spokesperson in a statement.
Meta also condemned the fine, calling it unjust.
“The European Commission is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards,” a Meta spokesperson stated.
“This isn’t just about a fine; the Commission forcing us to change our business model, effectively imposing a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” the spokesperson added.
The sanctions were expected to be announced in March, but EU officials reportedly delayed them due to President Trump’s ongoing trade tensions.
{Matzav.com}