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The EU fined Apple and Facebook owner Meta a total of 700 million euros for violating the antitrust rules, but it prevented potentially large penalties as Brussels attempts to avoid tensions with US President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, regulators fined iPhone makers 500 million euros and ordered them to amend the App Store rules within two months following an investigation into whether Apple’s rules prevented app developers from providing consumers with outside the platform.
The EU will also fine META 200 million euros, saying that the technology group must change its “salary or consent” model, forcing users to agree to data tracking or pay subscription fees for an ad-free experience.
Under the Digital Markets Act, companies could face penalties of up to 10% of global sales, potentially bringing both companies to billions of euros.
However, Brussels has chosen a fine that is well below that threshold as it seeks to implement a DMA designed to curb the digital market of the high-tech giants, whilst avoiding a direct conflict with Washington.
Officials say the new European Commission, which took office in December, will also focus on compliance with law high-tech companies rather than potential high fines.
“This is a very new regulation,” EU competitive director Teresa Rivera told the Financial Times to explain the size of the fine. “We are very aware that these are the first decisions.”
The new fines follow a 90-day suspension of Trump’s so-called mutual tariff scheme as the US president is trying to find deals with the EU amid intensifying tensions.
This month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that retaliation against US tariffs could lead to US exports of services, including Big Tech’s operations in Europe.
The EU rules regarding Big Tech are the major flashpoint between Brussels and Trump, previously comparing EU fines to “overseas fear tor” and calling them “a form of taxation.”
On Wednesday, the committee also announced that it would shut down two other investigations from Apple and Meta without further sanctions.
However, Brussels said it would consider Apple’s terms of the agreement in more detail, which could result in a fine later in the process. In the preliminary findings, the committee found that Apple does not allow third-party app stores on the iOS operating system, or that it does not allow apps to be downloaded directly from the web to iPhone.
Apple said it appealed, “yes, yet another example of the Commission, “yes, another example of the Commission, which is bad for users’ privacy and security, products, and unfairly targets a series of decisions that force us to provide technology for free.”
Meta said the committee “will try to make American businesses successful while ensuring Chinese and European companies can operate under various standards.”
“The committee that forces us to change our business model will require that Meta be effectively imposed multi-billion dollar tariffs and provided inferior services,” said Joel Caplan, Meta chief lobbyist.
The fines imposed on Meta and Apple are minimal, but officials said there is still tension over how Trump will respond.
In two months, the committee will need to redetermine whether the company has done enough to comply with the law, or whether it will impose regular penalties on them.
