EU targets Apple & Meta with hefty fines right now as the European Union takes a pretty strong stance on enforcing its tech regulations. Just this week, actually on Wednesday, April 23, European regulators hit these giant companies with penalties adding up to about $750 million, and this is really the first time they’ve used their new digital markets act to issue such significant fines. At the time of writing, this move by the EU shows they’re quite serious about implementing their big tech regulation framework across European digital markets.
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Digital Markets Act Forces Apple, Meta Into Big Tech Reckoning
The Fines Explained
The operating system developer Apple must pay a €500 million (approx. $571 million) fine after obstructing app developers from advertising cost-effective solutions beyond their in-app marketplace. Meta received a €200 million fine after it mandated Facebook and Instagram users to select between personalized advertising or making payments for non-advertisement versions of their services.
The companies have sixty days to meet these rulings or more penalties will be imposed. The EU prosecutes Apple and Meta under its strategic plans to preserve fair competition throughout the digital market.
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s executive vice president for tech sovereignty, stated:
“The decisions adopted today find that both Apple and Meta have taken away this free choice from their users and are required to change their behavior.”
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Tech Giants Push Back
The digital markets act has definitely triggered some strong reactions from the affected companies. Both of these tech giants have already announced that they plan to appeal against these decisions.
Apple released a statement accusing the Commission of constantly changing requirements:
“Despite countless meetings, the Commission continues to move the goalposts every step of the way.”
Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan argued in his response:
“The Commission is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards.”
Global Implications
These fines represent a really important moment for big tech regulation across the world. The EU targets Apple & Meta during a period when there are also increasing trade tensions with the United States. These decisions were actually supposed to come out in March but got delayed. This was related to various complaints from President Donald Trump about how EU regulations are affecting American companies.
A Commission spokesperson named Thomas Regnier tried to address some of these concerns during a press briefing:
“We don’t care who owns a company. We don’t care where the company is located.”
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What Happens Next
Under the digital markets act framework, Apple will need to remove the restrictions that are currently preventing developers from steering users toward alternative payment channels. Meta is still in discussions with the regulators after they introduced a third option that allows users to see fewer personalized ads without having to pay for a subscription.
Joel Kaplan from Meta warned about broader economic impacts:
“This isn’t just about a fine; the Commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multibillion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service.”
As big tech regulation continues to advance globally, these first penalties under the DMA establish some really important precedents for how digital marketplaces might be governed going forward. The approach that the EU has taken to regulating these tech giants could influence how other regions around the world decide to address similar concerns about market dominance and user choice in their own digital economies.