EU: Apple & Meta fined totalling EUR700m by European Commission under Digital Markets Act for steering terms in App Store & "pay or consent" advertising model; incl. cos. comments
“Apple and Meta slapped with EU fines”
…The European Commission imposed fines on American big tech juggernauts Apple and Meta on Wednesday…
The fines, which totalled €700 million, are the first to be issued under the EU's Digital Markets Act…
Apple has been fined €500 million over the "steering terms" in its App Store that fail to direct users to offers in other app marketplaces, the Commission said, after it issued a non-compliance finding in March last year.
An Apple representative said the Commission was "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." The company intends to appeal the decision.
Meta has been fined €200 million for its "pay or consent" advertising model for EU users, which it first used on Facebook and Instagram in November 2023.
The Commission issued a non-compliance finding against Meta's advertising model in March last year, on the grounds that it forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data…
The fine against Meta is an attempt “to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards," said Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer…