In a move impacting the regulation of tech giants, the European Commission has fined Apple and Meta a total of €700 million for failing to meet obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple will have to pay €500 million and Meta €200 million.
Investigations into Apple and Meta were opened on March 25, 2024, when the Commission began investigating Apple’s steering rules in the App Store and Meta’s “Consent or Pay” model. In June and July 2024, both companies were notified of the Commission’s preliminary finding of non-compliance with the DMA.
Apple and Meta will have to comply with the European Commission’s decisions within 60 days, otherwise, they risk periodic penalty payments. The Commission can impose fines of up to 10% of the total worldwide annual turnover of companies that fail to comply with the established regulations.
The DMA requires app developers distributing their products through Apple’s App Store to be able to inform users about alternative offers outside the app store, free of charge, and allow them to make purchases through those channels. The European Commission has concluded that Apple has failed to comply with this obligation, as the company imposed technical and commercial restrictions that prevent app developers from directly informing users about cheaper offers outside the App Store. This limits options for consumers, who cannot fully access cheaper deals.
Furthermore, the Commission has ordered Apple to remove the restrictions preventing this “steering” towards external options and to refrain from perpetuating this behavior in the future. The fine imposed on Apple takes into account the seriousness and duration of the infringement.
On the other hand, the Commission has also closed the investigation into Apple’s “user choice” obligations, welcoming the company’s proactive collaboration in finding a solution compliant with the regulations.
Regarding Meta, the Commission has determined that its “Consent or Pay” model for Facebook and Instagram users in the European Union also violates the DMA. In November 2023, Meta introduced a binary model in which users had to choose between consenting to the combination of personal data for personalized advertising or paying a monthly subscription for an ad-free service.
The Commission has concluded that this model does not comply with the requirements of the DMA, as it does not offer users the option to choose a service that uses less personal data, which is what the law requires. In addition, Meta did not allow users to exercise their right to give free and specific consent to the combination of their personal data.
Although Meta introduced a new version of the model in November 2024 to offer an alternative that allegedly uses less personal data, today’s decision refers to the period between March 2024 (when the DMA obligations became binding) and November 2024, when the new model was presented.
The fine imposed on Meta also takes into account the seriousness and duration of the infringement. This is the first time the European Commission has adopted non-compliance decisions under the DMA.
Image: Flux Schnell
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