European Union regulators imposed hefty fines on Apple and Meta on Wednesday, stepping up enforcement of the bloc’s digital competition rules. The penalties, totaling hundreds of millions of euros, are part of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a wide-ranging regulation aimed at curbing the dominance of tech giants and increasing consumer and business choice.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, fined Apple €500 million (approximately $571 million) for preventing app developers from directing users to cheaper alternatives outside the App Store. Meta Platforms was fined €200 million for forcing users of Facebook and Instagram to choose between personalized ads or paying to avoid them.
While substantial, the fines fall below the multibillion-euro penalties the Commission has issued in past antitrust cases. Both companies are required to comply with the rulings within 60 days or face unspecified recurring penalty payments.
The announcements, originally expected in March, were delayed amid rising transatlantic trade tensions. Then-U.S. President Donald Trump had frequently criticized EU regulations as unfairly targeting American companies.
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s Executive Vice President for Technological Sovereignty, stated that the DMA is designed to ensure citizens have full control over their data and that businesses can freely communicate with their customers. “Today’s decisions conclude that Apple and Meta stripped users of that choice, and they are now required to change their behavior,” she said.
Apple responded sharply, accusing the Commission of treating the iPhone maker unfairly. “Despite our efforts to comply, the Commission keeps moving the goalposts,” the company stated, adding that it has spent “hundreds of thousands of engineering hours” making changes, none of which, it claims, were requested by users.
Meta was equally critical. Joel Kaplan, the company’s Head of Global Affairs, said the Commission is effectively imposing a multibillion-dollar tariff by forcing a business model change. “And by unfairly restricting personalized advertising, the European Commission is also hurting European businesses and economies,” he argued.
The EU’s investigation into Meta focused on how the company sought to comply with strict EU privacy rules by offering users a paid, ad-free version of its services. Under the model, users could pay at least €10 per month to avoid having their personal data used for targeted advertising—a move prompted by a top EU court ruling requiring Meta to obtain consent first.
However, regulators argued the model does not allow users to truly give “freely given consent” to having data from services like Facebook Marketplace, WhatsApp, and Messenger combined for advertising purposes.
In November, Meta introduced a third option, allowing Facebook and Instagram users in Europe to see fewer personalized ads without subscribing. The Commission is currently reviewing this feature and has asked the company to provide evidence of its impact.
From Brussels, EU spokespeople denied that the sanctions are politically or geographically motivated. “We don’t care who owns the company or where it is based,” said Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier. “Whether it’s a Chinese, American, or European company, they must all follow the rules within the European Union.”
