The European Commission has fined Apple and Meta 500 million euros ($568 million) and 200 million euros ($227 million), respectively, for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). On top of forcing the tech giants to pay steep fines, the commission's proposed remedies would undermine the firms' business models and their ability to serve consumers.
The commission fined Apple on Tuesday for preventing developers from directly informing users of deals offered outside the App Store, thereby depriving consumers of the benefits of "alternative and cheaper offers." The commission has ordered the company to remove these restrictions on pain of additional fines. Apple has called the penalty "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 products, and force us to give away our technology for free," according to Reuters.
On the same day, Meta was fined for offering Facebook and Instagram users a choice between free versions of the apps with personalized advertising and paid ones without advertising—something the commission calls a "pay or consent model." In a statement, a spokesman for Meta accused the commission of "forcing us to change our business model" said this "effectively imposes a multibillion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service."
