EU hands Apple, Meta massive fines despite warnings from Trump
The European Union (EU) on Wednesday slapped Apple and Meta with hundreds of millions of dollars in fines despite warnings from President Donald Trump that countries who penalize U.S. companies could be hit with tariffs.
Apple was fined 500 million euros ($570 million USD) and Meta 200 million euros ($228 million USD) by EU antitrust regulators under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation targeting Big Tech.
The sanctions were handed down following an investigation by the European Commission into whether Meta and Apple are complying with the law meant to allow smaller, less dominant rivals to enter the tech market.
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Both Apple and Meta have indicated they will challenge the fines.
Meta sent Fox News Digital a statement from Joel Kaplan, the company's chief global affairs officer, who claimed the European Commission is trying to "handicap" American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to "operate under different standards."
"This isn't just about a fine; the Commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service. And by unfairly restricting personalized advertising, the European Commission is also hurting European businesses and economies," Kaplan added.
"Today's announcements are yet another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting Apple in a series of decisions that are bad for the privacy and security of our users, bad for our products, and force us to give away technology for free," Apple said in an emailed statement to news outlets. "We have spent hundreds of thousands of engineering hours and made dozens of changes to comply with this law, none of which our users have asked for. Despite countless meetings, the Commission continues to move the goal posts every step of the way."
In February, Trump signed a memorandum to defend American companies and innovators from overseas extortion.
"This administration will consider responsive actions like tariffs to combat the digital service taxes (DSTs), fines, practices, and policies that foreign governments levy on American companies," the memorandum states.
Last July, the EU issued preliminary charges accusing Meta of violating the DMA by forcing customers into a restrictive "pay or consent" model for ads on Instagram and Facebook.
Meta rolled out a subscription model to comply with the European Courts. They later lowered the cost of that option and created a free option that showed users more frequent but less personalized ads.
European officials focused on Meta's rollout of a 2023 subscription service in which users could pay approximately $14 per month for an ad-free experience on their apps or consent to use their personal data for targeted ads.
The company is discussing a new model with the EU introduced in November.
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Apple must also remove restrictions that the EU says prevent app developers from guiding users to better deals existing outside the Apple App Store.
Regulators specifically criticized Apple's Core Technology Fee, claiming the charge hamstrung app developers and made it difficult for users to download alternatives from the web.
"We have taken firm but balanced enforcement action against both companies based on clear and predictable rules. All companies operating in the EU must follow our laws and respect European values," EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said following the decision.
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Meta and Apple could face daily fines if they do not make changes listed by the EU in the next two months.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.