American technology giants Apple and Meta are the first companies fined by the European Commission for violating the Digital Markets Act.
Apple and Meta must pay a total of 700 million euros
Apple will have to pay 500 million euros because it restricts competition in its App Store. Meta has been fined 200 million because it requires its users to pay if they do not provide their personal data to the company for advertising purposes.
Apple has been given 60 days to introduce changes to its policy. If this does not happen, the company will be fined for each day it is in violation. They have already stated that they will appeal the sanctions. Meta has made changes to comply with the regulations, and the Commission is currently assessing them.
Washington's reaction is expected
The US president's administration is expected to react sharply to the fines. In February, the White House threatened countermeasures if the technology companies were fined. While the US has a deficit with Europe in terms of goods, the situation is different in the field of services - American technology giants dominate the Old Continent.
Brussels responded that the procedures started a long time ago and follow the legal provisions in consumer protection and competition. "The rules must be applied", commented Ursula von der Leyen, "we don't care where the company is from and who runs it".
In 2023, legislative acts on digital markets and digital services came into force in the European Union. Their goal is to protect consumers' rights online and ensure competition in the online space.
With the Digital Markets Act, the EU wants to limit the influence of big tech companies. Among them are Apple and Meta, Google's parent company Alphabet, Amazon, booking platform Booking, the company that develops Tiktok - Bytedance and Microsoft.