The European Commission fines Apple €500M and Meta €200M under the DMA and issues cease-and-desist orders to both companies; Apple and Meta say they will appeal

Fines come as European officials pursue trade talks with the Trump administration — BRUSSELS—The European Union fined Apple …

Wall Street Journal 2025-04-23

Context & Ripple Effects

The penalties follow months of expected DMA enforcement against both companies, including an earlier investigation into whether Apple let developers direct users to offers outside the App Store. The App Store steering probe made Apple’s distribution rules a central test of the new regime.

This is the Commission’s move from anticipated sanctions to formal fines and cease-and-desist orders, with both companies contesting the outcome. The subsequent Apple appeal of the €500M penalty underscores that the practical boundary of compliance will be shaped through enforcement and challenges, not fines alone.

First-order effects

Apple faces a €500M fine and Meta a €200M fine, alongside orders requiring them to stop the conduct the Commission found non-compliant; both companies will contest those findings on appeal.
Apple’s App Store commercial rules face immediate scrutiny because the enforcement record connects its case to developers’ ability to steer users to outside offers.

Second-order effects

Developers and other businesses dependent on Apple’s platform gain regulatory leverage in disputes over how customers can be directed to alternative deals.
The cease-and-desist orders make behavioral changes, rather than the one-time fines alone, the key competitive consequence for Apple and Meta; appeals create uncertainty over the final scope of those changes.

Third-order effects

The cases test whether the DMA can shift gatekeeper conduct through prescriptive obligations and ongoing enforcement, rather than relying solely on traditional competition cases.
If upheld, the decisions could establish a more interventionist EU baseline for platform access and commercial choice, while cross-border political friction may make enforcement a broader policy issue.

The trend: The EU is moving from building the DMA’s enforcement pipeline to using it to force operational changes at major digital gatekeepers.

Discussion

@hdijkstra Hylke Dijkstra on bluesky
Forget sanctions on bourbon. European Commission goes after the US digital giants ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
@bremaininspain.com @bremaininspain.com on bluesky
Good! EU fines Apple €500M and Meta €200M for breaking Europe's digital rules — In addition, Apple has been issued with a cease-&-desist order requiring it to make further product changes by late June. If firm fails to comply, Commission can fine it for every additional day i…
@gateklons @gateklons on bluesky
In what world are these fines dissuasive? Meta's recently introduced less-personalized ads option hasn't even been assesed. Facebook Marketplace undesignated. We are heading in the wrong direction. — ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
@corporateeurope @corporateeurope on bluesky
‼️ Despite incredible lobby pressure from Big Tech & the Trump administration, the Commission has today fined Meta and Apple for non-compliance with the DMA — The corporate takeover in the US is an urgent reminder to tackle Big Tech's monopoly power now more than ever. …
@stroughtonsmith … Steve Troughton-Smith on mastodon
The European Commission finds Apple's Core Technology Fee is against the law. It's also too onerous on developers, and too complicated for users, and Apple has not proved these measures are just and valid. Apple now has a chance to defend its reasoning before a final ruling on …
@LukaszOlejnik@mastodon.social Lukasz Olejnik on mastodon
Apple and Meta got the first EU Digital Markets Act fines. Apple got a €500 million penalty for App Store. Meta has been fined €200 million for ‘Consent or Pay’, since some services should be provided for free and without processing user data. https://ec.europa.eu/...
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
Great news for app developers worldwide! The European Commission is enforce the Digital Markets Act and end Apple's illegal anticompetitive discrimination against competing stores (like our own Epic Games Store): [image]
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
Here's a Big Tech funded trade body analogizing Europe's enforcing the Digital Markets Act against Big Tech lawbreaking to Julius Caesar's overthrow of the Roman republic. Disgusting. Apple and Meta lobbying should stop far short of stoking hatred among allies nations.
@itifdc @itifdc on x
With €700 million in fines for Apple & Meta, the EU isn't just enforcing the DMA—it's crossing the Rubicon. Amid an already tense trade environment, the Commission's move won't sit well with the Trump administration, which has warned against exploiting U.S. innovation. [image]
@samuelstolton Samuel Stolton on x
Despite the Digital Markets Act #DMA having powers to levy fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover, today's EU penalties represented less than 0.15% of Apple and Meta's 2024 sales.
@joel_kaplan Joel Kaplan on x
My statement on the European Commission's blatantly discriminatory decision targeting Meta's personalized ads business model: [image]
@zamaan_qureshi Zamaan Qureshi on x
This isn't “politics.” If you break the law, you should be punished. [image]
@hydrakles @hydrakles on x
🙄 https://cnn.com/... [image]
@yannikouts Yannis Koutsomitis on x
The @EU_Commission fines Apple and Meta under the Digital Markets Act (DMA): · €500ml on Apple for failing to inform customers of alternative offers outside App Store · €200ml on Meta for failing to give consumers the choice of a service that uses less of their personal data
@andymstone Andy Stone on x
This is the European Commission playing politics. Commissioner Von der Leyen repeatedly postponed the decision. Why? Per @handelsblatt: “...this was not due to technical details, but rather to political calculations.”
@lewis_crofts Lewis Crofts on x
.@EU_Commission spokespeople on #DMA — these decisions have nothing to do with trade negotiations — we don't care who owns a company or where it is located — we are happy to explain to international partners about our regulations — we care about our consumers and citizens
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
Today's fine vs Apple “services” revenue - largely comprised of money Apple heists from by overcharging developers with 30% payment processing fees (versus Visa's 2.5%) -
@epicnewsroom @epicnewsroom on x
Breaking: The European Commission finds Apple is violating the Digital Markets Act. Apple must end their fees and restrictions on purchases made outside the App Store. Great news for developers and consumers! https://www.epicgames.com/...
@lewis_crofts Lewis Crofts on x
Meta deeply unhappy about the #DMA fine today. [image]
@lewis_crofts Lewis Crofts on x
Apple will appeal today's DMA fine [image]
@jan_eeckhout Jan Eeckhout on x
Important competition news in EU. Interoperability to get more competitive digital markets: “Apple should allow third party app stores on iOS and apps to be downloaded to the iPhone directly from the web. [...] Apple failed to comply with this obligation” https://ec.europa.eu/...
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
Today's decision benefits all developers - European developers and American developers alike. It highlights the need for America to similarly pass the Open App Markets Act to bring competition back to digital markets.
@davekeating Dave Keating on x
BREAKING: The EU has launched a salvo against the Trump regime by going ahead with the fines against Meta & Apple that have been in the works for a while. 🇺🇸tech giants have been pleading with Trump to protect them from 🇪🇺law. How will the regime respond? https://www.politico.eu/…
@lewis_crofts Lewis Crofts on x
“All future violations will carry significantly tougher penalties, as a result of this decision,” @Andreas_Schwab warns regarding the next round of #DMA breaches. https://www.eppgroup.eu/...
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
Epic's view on the implications of Europe's ruling against Apple's anticompetitive practices - all good news for developers worldwide: https://www.epicgames.com/...
@hennavirkkunen Henna Virkkunen on x
Today, we have concluded that Apple and Meta have breached the #DigitalMarketsAct and that Facebook Marketplace should no longer be designated under the #DMA. https://europa.eu/!9RDQmk
@bzamayo Benjamin Mayo on x
EU slaps Apple with 500 million euro fine in regard to anti-steering provisions, threatens more fines if changes aren't made. Also says Apple needs to do more to support third party app marketplaces, or else face fines on that matter too. https://9to5mac.com/...
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
Lobbyists and shills funded by American Big Tech had better not misportray Europe's modest fine for Apple's lawbreaking as a “European tax on American companies”. To do so would be to try to gaslight the administration into a trade war to protect Apple's lawlessness.
@samuelstolton Samuel Stolton on x
Apple and Meta were hit by €700 million in EU fines - the first under the bloc's Digital Markets Act - following warnings of harsh retaliation from US President Donald Trump amid an ongoing trade spat. w/@Gmvolpi @business https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
The EU isn't happy with Apple's tax on alternative app stores. The fee structure imposed on developers and the daunting user installation process have led the European Commission to issue preliminary findings against Apple. Details 👇 https://www.theverge.com/...
@eu_competition @eu_competition on x
The 🇪🇺 Commission also found that Meta's Facebook Marketplace no longer meets the threshold for business users under the DMA. ⬇️less than 10,000 business users in 2024. As a result, it will no longer be designated under the DMA ✔️
@eu_competition @eu_competition on x
🔴Today the 🇪🇺 Commission found that Apple and Meta in breach of the Digital Markets Act. Apple and Meta were fined €500 and €200 respectively. 🗓️The companies are required to comply with the 🇪🇺decisions within 60 days. All information 👇 https://europa.eu/!9RDQmk [image]
@digitaleu @digitaleu on x
Today, the @EU_Commission concluded that Apple & Meta breached the DMA as: 🔸Apple restricts app developers' ability to promote offers outside the App Store 🔸Meta's ‘Consent or Pay’ model does not give users access to an equivalent service that uses fewer personal data for ads [im…
r/neoliberal r on reddit
EU fines Apple €500M and Meta €200M for breaking Europe's digital rules
r/technology r on reddit
Apple fined $570 million and Meta $228 million for breach of EU law
r/eutech r on reddit
EU fines Apple €500M and Meta €200M for breaking Europe's digital rules
r/wallstreetbets r on reddit
EU fines Apple €500M and Meta €200M for breaking Europe's digital rules
r/theprimeagen r on reddit
EU fines Apple and Meta with €500 million and €200 million respectively for breach of Digital Markets Act
r/europeanunion r on reddit
EU fines Apple €500M and Meta €200M for breaking Europe's digital rules

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