EU imposes hefty fines on Apple, Meta under new digital markets act
The European Union slapped fines worth hundreds of millions of euros on technology firms Apple (AAPL) and Meta (META) on Tuesday, as the first antitrust sanctions from a landmark new law aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech take hold. The fines come under the Digital Markets Act.
Iphone maker Apple was fined €500m ($570m), while Meta incurred a €200m fine, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
“Apple and Meta have fallen short,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said. “All companies operating in the EU must follow our laws and respect European values.”
The EU's case around Apple revolves around its App Store preventing developers from linking to sites outside of the company's marketplace.
Meanwhile, Meta's Instagram faces the fine for its model of advert-free services on the image-sharing platform.
These are the first penalties under the Digital Markets Act and are much smaller than other punishments levied under incumbent EU competition laws. The fines come as a drop in the ocean against both company's yearly revenues.
Meta hit back at the fine, saying the EU “is attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards.”
Apple accused the bloc of discriminating against the company, adding that it would appeal the fine in EU courts.
Apple was previously fined €1.8bn, as the bloc accused the company of pushing out music streaming rivals on the iPhone.
Both Apple and Meta were trading higher in premarket following the ruling.
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