EU imposes EUR 800 million penalties on Apple and Meta for violating the Digital Markets Act.
EU Commission Fines Meta and Apple for Breaching Digital Markets Act (DMA)
The European Union's (EU) Commission has issued fines to tech giants Meta and Apple for violating their obligations under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has been fined €200 million for failing to comply with the DMA's requirement to offer users a less data-intensive option. This non-compliance was found in Meta's 'Consent or Pay' advertising model, introduced in November 2023.
Under the DMA, app developers distributing their apps via Apple's App Store should be able to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store. However, Apple has breached this obligation, preventing app developers from fully benefiting from the advantages of alternative distribution channels. As a result, consumers cannot fully benefit from cheaper offers outside the App Store. Apple has been fined €500 million for this breach.
The Commission has also found that Meta's online intermediation service, Facebook Marketplace, should no longer be designated under the DMA, following Meta's request to reconsider the designation and additional enforcement measures. In 2024, Facebook Marketplace had less than 10,000 business users, causing it to no longer meet the threshold giving rise to a presumption that it is an important gateway for business users to reach end users.
The Commission's decisions regarding Meta do not repeat earlier facts about Apple's non-compliance. The Commission has ordered Apple to remove technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from perpetuating the non-compliant conduct in the future.
The Commission has stressed that these decisions are part of its efforts to ensure a fair and competitive digital market. The Commission is requesting evidence from Meta on the impact of the new ads model introduced in November 2024, and the dialogue with Meta on these matters has been ongoing, allowing the company to present its views and arguments.
Under the new version of Meta's free personalised ads model, introduced in November 2024, a new option for less personal data usage is offered. However, the Commission is currently assessing its impact and continues to dialogue with Meta.
The Commission found that Apple fails to comply with the obligation that allows app developers to inform customers, free of charge, of alternative offers outside the App Store, steer them to those offers, and allow them to make purchases. This breach of the anti-steering obligation under the DMA has been a concern for the Commission.
These decisions come after extensive dialogue with the companies concerned, allowing them to present their views and arguments. The Commission's decisions are a significant step towards ensuring a fair and competitive digital market in the EU.
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