Apple, Meta hit with massive EU antitrust fines as regulators go on the march

It’s the ambition of every tech company to be first, but maybe not this kind of first.

Apple and Meta are being forced to pay up hundreds of millions of dollars by the European Commission, making them the first companies to be fined for violations under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Announced on Wednesday, Apple has been fined €500 million — about $570 million, or 0.15 percent of Apple’s $391.04 billion revenue in 2024 — for charges regarding its “anti-steering” practices that didn’t comply with DMA antitrust rules. “Anti-steering” is when the Apple App Store restricts developers from informing their users of optional platforms outside of the Apple App Store where they can make purchases.

Meta was fined €200 million — about $230 million, or 0.14 percent of Meta’s $164.50 billion revenue in 2024 — for charges regarding Facebook and Instagram’s “pay or consent” ad model, in which users have to pay to get an ad-free experience on the social media platform or consent to the platforms using their data.

Both Meta and Apple can get out of the fines if they comply with the European Commission’s ruling within the next 60 days. According to the Verge and The New York Times, Apple and Meta both plan to appeal the ruling.

This follows a rough few months for fellow tech giant Google, with two big antitrust decisions and an action against the platform in Japan.