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The Commission under the European Union has ordered technology companies Apple and Meta to jointly pay a fine of 700 million euros (about 1 trillion 1 billion rupees according to the current exchange rate) for violating digital anti-competition laws.
The commission fined Apple 500 million euros and Meta 200 million euros for violating the Digital Market Act (DMA).
Apple has been fined for trying to monopolize the marketplace through its App Store. Meta has been fined for not complying with the provisions on user data management, according to the BBC. "It is our responsibility to protect the rights of both European citizens and innovative businesses," European Commission Commissioner Hena Virkkunen said in a statement.
According to The New York Times, Meta and Apple are the first companies to be penalized for violating laws enacted in 2022 to regulate the digital economy. This law prohibits large technology companies from abusing their power and authority as digital gatekeepers to impose favorable conditions on users and businesses. Both Meta and Apple have objected to the
penalty. Metta accused the European Union of 'trying to undermine successful American businesses'.
Apple has also responded to the fact that they were "biased" and "trying to force their technology to be given away for free" while the discussion with the Commission was going on.
"Today's announcement is yet another example of Apple being treated in a biased way," CNBC wrote, citing Apple's response.
It is estimated that the decision to impose a fine on an American company amid growing economic tension between the US and Europe could make US President Donald Trump more angry. The US has imposed a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from the European Union. Trump has also accused Europe of "hurting America".
Ariana Podesta, spokeswoman for the European Union, responded to the BBC that these two issues are "completely different contexts". The European Commission has been investigating Meta and Apple under the DMA for some time. According to the commission, it is anti-competitive behavior for Apple to ban app marketplaces other than the Appstore on the iPhone or to not allow downloading of any apps from outside the Appstore. The commission has also been raising questions about charging high fees and imposing strict conditions on app makers who want to place apps on the App Store. The
meta issue is about small pieces of programming code called 'cookies'. Cookies are used to track user activity on websites. The Commission alleges that Meta is pressuring Facebook and Instagram with a 'consent or pay model' i.e. 'do as you are told or pay a fee'. Accordingly, users were forced to agree to tracking or pay a monthly subscription fee. According to the Commission, this model does not give users the option to freely consent to how their data will be used, according to media reports.
The European Commission has instructed both companies to comply with the rules within 60 days or face additional fines. Metta has accused Chinese and European companies of allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards than American companies in response to this decision.
