Apple, Meta face modest fines as EU seeks to avoid US spat
By Samuel Stolton | Bloomberg
Apple Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are set to be hit by fines under the European Union’s Big Tech competition rulebook toward the end of next week, with the iPhone maker facing the added threat of recurring penalties under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act.
EU regulators will likely dole out relatively modest fines against the two American tech firms when compared to antitrust penalties of the past, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move is seen as an attempt to enforce the EU’s digital rules while avoiding inflaming tensions with US President Donald Trump, who has warned he’d strike back with heavy tariffs following any “disproportionate” penalties against American tech firms.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said recently the bloc won’t shy away from taking on Silicon Valley firms for fear of retaliation. But Trump is expected to roll out a wide swath of so-called reciprocal tariffs next week he says are aimed at countering non-tariff barriers, which could include tech regulations.
While the upcoming fines under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act are not expected to be high, Apple in particular may face a broader reputational risk. The company’s penalty is likely to be accompanied by so-called periodic penalty payments, according to the people, who spoke under condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters.
Under the DMA, the EU has general fining powers of up to 10% of global annual revenue. But it also has the ability to levy repeated fines of up to 5% of average daily worldwide turnover, in order to compel compliance with the rules.
European regulators have used such recurring fines against Apple before. A long-running spat between Apple and the Dutch competition authority over apps led to consecutive weekly fines that ran on for several months, and reached a maximum penalty of €50 million.
Apple is being probed by EU regulators under the DMA for allegedly preventing apps from being able to link out to alternative platforms to make purchases. It faced a €1.8 billion fine last year for similar abuses but only against music-streaming apps, under the bloc’s traditional antitrust tools. It is also due to face a decision on Monday — with a potential fine — from France’s competition authority over how it collects iPhone users’ data.
Meta, meanwhile, is expected to be fined next week under the DMA over its ad-free services on Instagram and Facebook, the people said. The watchdog suspects that Meta’s rules force users to consent to their personal data being combined — something the law places guardrails on.
In November, it was hit with a €798 million fine by EU regulators for tying its Facebook Marketplace service to the social network, the US tech giant’s first ever penalty for EU antitrust violations. In a recently disclosure of the full decision, watchdogs also mulled forcing Facebook to separate Marketplace from its social media network entirely.
Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment. The European Commission declined to comment.
A person familiar with Meta’s thinking said that the company remains concerned the EU will require further changes to its subscription model in ways that it believes go beyond the law.
Reuters reported earlier on the modest fines expected against Apple and Meta.
The DMA — which includes a list of dos and don’ts for powerful companies enjoying so-called gatekeeper status — was created to target what the EU considers abusive behavior by dominant tech firms.
Over recent years the EU has made costly penalties against firms, including more than $8 billion in fines against Alphabet Inc.’s Google and a separate order for Apple to pay Ireland back taxes of €13 billion. Under its abuse-of-dominance rules, it has also forced changes out of Amazon.com Inc.’s marketplace platform and Apple’s tap-and-go chip, while also investigating Microsoft Corp. video conference software, Teams.
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