The EU Commission ordered Wednesday Applelle EUR 500 million and Metals EUR 200 million fines because companies have violated the EU digital market regulation (DMA).
Decisions against Apple and Meta on Wednesday are the first violation decisions made under DMA, which came into force in 2023.
Commission Vice President, Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen According to business and consumers, the free choice of business and consumers is the key principle of the Digital Market Regulation.
Virkkunen emphasizes that “citizens must have full control over when and how their information is used online, and that companies are free to communicate to their customers.”
“Today’s decisions state that both Apple and Meta have removed this free choice from their users and have to change their operations,” Virkkunen comments on the Commission’s recent decisions.
Apple’s restrictions
According to the Commission, Apple has violated the DMA control ban. According to the digital market regulation, application developers who share their applications through the App Store should be able to inform customers about alternative offers outside the App Store, and to guide customers to these offers and allow them to make purchases.
According to the Commission, Apple has not complied with this obligation.
The Commission notes that due to the many restrictions imposed by Apple, application developers cannot fully utilize the benefits of alternative distribution channels outside the App Store. Similarly, consumers cannot fully benefit from alternative and cheaper offers.
According to the Commission, Apple has not been able to show that the restrictions were objectively necessary and relative.
As part of the decision on Wednesday, the Commission has ordered Apple to eliminate technical and commercial restrictions and refrain from the operation that led to the violation in the future.
According to the Commission, a fine of EUR 500 million for Apple takes into account the severity and duration of the infringement.
On Wednesday, the Commission also decided that it would close an investigation into Apple’s user selection obligations because the company is committed to the proactive action required by the Commission.
Meta’s offsets
The Commission considers that META has violated the obligation of the digital market regulation to provide consumers with an option that uses less their personal information.
The case is related to Meta’s Instagram and Facebook in November 2023 for an order fee model.
In the model, EU users on Facebook and Instagram had to choose from either to agree to combine personal data for personalized advertising or pay a monthly subscription fee for an advertising service.
The Commission stated that the meta model was not in line with the DMA because it did not provide users with a special choice for the service that uses less their personal information, but is otherwise similar to the “personalized ads” service. According to the Commission, the Meta model also did not allow users to freely agree to combine their personal data.
Meta changed its practices in November 2024 after numerous discussions with the Commission. The Commission says it is currently evaluating this new option.
According to the Commission, a fine assigned to meta takes into account the severity and duration of the company’s offense.
On Wednesday, the Commission also stated that Meta’s online brokerage service Facebook Marketplace is no longer considered a service defined according to DMA.
Apple and Meta are required to comply with the Commission’s decisions within 60 days, otherwise they may have to pay new penalty fees.